A Hero's Rebirth
by Tony2Shanks
Summary: In order to do some last-minute training for the Champion's League, a recently returned Ash and Pikachu make a plan. A plan to train using the thing that always gets their spirits high and adrenaline pumping; gym battles. But they must hurry, they now only have six months to re-battle the gyms and do what took them years last time! Possible Rayshipping, but pairing up for debate.
1. Tragedy At the Kalos League

A Hero's Rebirth

Chapter One: Tragedy At the Kalos League

* * *

It all came down to this, Ask Ketchum realized as he stood on the battlefield. He had made it to the finals, the finals of the Kalos League, and his opponent was his rival from before, Alain. Alain and his mega-evolving Charizard.

They had fought to a standstill at least twice now, with the battle remaining stagnant in favor of neither contender. The majority of the battle was behind them now, though. In fact it was coming to a close. Both Ash and Alain were fighting using their last Pokemon, being Greninja and Charizard respectively.

Truthfully, Ash couldn't even remember the rest of his opponents' team. This was his real challenge, what he had been waiting for since the first time he battled against Alain, a chance to show the world what he and Greninja could do together. His other Pokemon battled valiantly, Pikachu himself taking out two Pokemon, but it was in Greninja's hands now. Well, his and Greninja's, he though as he and Greninja concentrated.

Finally, after many, many practice sessions and failed attempts the duo felt confident in their ability to keep the newly dubbed form of Ash-Greninja stable for an entire battle. Alain and his Mega Charizard X would be their first major test.

" **Water Shuriken** , go!" Ash started off, their synchronization complete by the time the command was ushered.

"Dodge and use **Dragon Claw**!" Alain countered, mega-evolving already. Charizard evolved in no time and spared no seconds before shooting away from the Kalos starters' attack and charging, claws ablaze with green energy.

Ash and Alain smirked, but for very different reasons.

* * *

" **Thunder Punch**!" Alain ordered, thrusting his arm forward. Charizard grunted, tackling down Greninja with its fist crackling in electricity.

At least it would have, had Ash not ordered a speedy dodge with **Double Team**.

" **Aerial Ace** , all of you!" Ash replied swinging his arms like Greninja does while using said move.

All of the Greninja copies started towards Charizard at once and no matter the attack, they all couldn't be stopped in time. The real Greninja was only revealed when Charizard was thrown backwards towards his trainer and skidded to a stop, managing to lurch off the ground and back to its feet.

Charizard grunted to Alain, who nodded.

"I know, this is just the opponent we've been waiting for! Someone who could push us to our limits non-stop and keep up!" Alain said excitedly. "It's too bad it has to end, now." He said next, lower and into the microphone in his ear.

Alain and Charizard stopped moving, both stepping backwards as the air in the stadium went still, much too still for a stadium full of people to be. It seemed like nobody was moving, as if time stood still. Even the clouds seemed frozen in their place.

Ash and Pikachu noticed this and exchanged glances with one another, unsure. They had been in situations akin to this many times and each memory the duo recalled ended with an…

"Ambush!" Ash cried jumping back and dodging a 'rogue' **Flamethrower** from the side of the field.

Ash and Pikachu turned to see Team Flare members coming out of the Ref's box in droves, each tossing Pokeballs into the air. Greninja swiftly returned to his side, ready to defend and still in his boosted state. The trio looked across the field to see if Alain was unharmed, imagine their surprise when the grunts formed a circle around him. Only, the circle was facing outward.

"You!" Ash bellowed across the stadium. "You're a member of Team Flare."

By now a lot of the audience was retreating out of the stands and fleeing for the exits, bar the Champion and Elite Four who were rushing out of the VIP box to help and a few other former league battlers staying. His friends stayed too, no doubt not leaving without him.

He watched as Clemont and Luxray cleared a path for their group to make it from the stands to the battlefield, standing level with Ash and a sea of grunts now.

"I am." Alain said calmly, nodding. It was surreal for Ash to not hear him deny it as expected, even though Ash already knew it to be true.

"I thought you were better than this!" Ash yelled again over the duels, Greninja and Pikachu keeping him safe for the moment.

"All we want is to learn more about mega evolution, Ash, to harness its power and bring peace to the regions!" Alain told Ash, who scoffed.

The guy was getting played, Ash realized, by whoever the leader of Team Flare was. Alain didn't know what they were really up to, he hadn't been there the many times Ash had confronted the villainous team in his journey across Kalos. The only difference between them and the others Ash had brought down was that they lasted longer than the rest (barring Team Rocket).

"That's more than I could say for you and those scum you work for. I thought you were above that, Ash." Alain said next, confusing Ash greatly.

"Whaddaya mean? I don't work for-" Ash started, before being cut off by a large explosion. A man with red hair in a triangle shape and black clothing with red undertones walked onto the field amongst the fighting and stood between Ash and Alain.

"Lysandre, mission successful." Alain reported, nodding. The man, Lysandre, grunted back refusing to take his gaze off Ash.

The man's predatory grin felt unsettling to the fourteen year old, and he quickly shouted at the man.

"Stop this, we don't need to fight!" Ash cried. Lysandre chuckled deeply and threateningly.

"Yes, we do." He said and before much else Ash felt a sting of pain in his shoulder.

Greninja had been hit, he realized. This wasn't working, was the next thought. Quickly, he released the other Pokemon he had on hand.

"Sceptile, **Leaf Blade**! Krookodile, **Dragon Claw**! Infernape, **Flamethrower!** Snorlax, **Hyper Beam**!" Ash cried, releasing his mighty team. "Greninja, **Water Shuriken**! And Pikachu, **ThunderBolt** 'em!"

Ash's Pokemon spread out, taking on individual Pokemon rather than an organized line up as usual. There were other trainers still; the ones who had also made it far in the league and the Elite Four members were still plowing through grunts. Diantha herself was dominating four battles at once, Gardevoir yet to even mega evolve.

The of course there was his friends huddled together in the far corner of the arena, keeping all the grunts away from Bonnie, Dedenne and their new green friend. Ash twitched again, knowing Greninja had taken another blow. This would take a while.

* * *

A half hour later and the police were finally involved and multiple gym leaders had rushed to the scene, Ash would've recognized some had he not been so busy. He was one of the only league competitors left on the field now, sans Alain, and Clemont and Bonnie's dad Meyer had come down in full Blaziken-man costume to protect his kids who could fight no longer.

Ash's brutal battling was put on hold as he overheard the command.

"Forget them you imbeciles! The boy, we're here for the boy!" Lysandre's voice called as he broke into Ash's view again.

Their eyes met and it was then that Ash knew this whole thing was about him. He didn't know why yet, but it had to be. He was the youngest still fighting, everyone else had left he had felt the large amount of Pokemon targeting Greninja for some time now.

He wasn't sure why they fought the others for so long if he was their main objective, but he didn't care anymore. He had to get out of here, draw them away and hope for the best. But, he remembered, he had no way for a speedy get away. His eyes scanned the broken and torn up battlefield, watching countless grunts, admins and elites and their Pokemon fight back against the police, elite four and a few others.

Before he could think of anything else, a loud, earth-shattering roar erupted from above. Ash knew what was happening, and he had about two minutes before it did.

All battling ceased for a few seconds and Ash grinned, running through the battles as they recommenced at top speed. He recalled all his Pokemon currently fighting, stopping the fights they were in halfway through. They had all defeated plenty of opponents by now. He continued running, Pikachu at his heels now, and passed right between Alain and Diantha brawling to get to Meyer who was in front of Serena and Clemont as they healed their teams. They were in the tunnel he walked out of to get onto the field that afternoon, Meyer guarding the entrance.

"I'm leaving. I gotta get out of here." Ash announced, stopping in his tracks and getting their attention immediately. "I'm the one they're after, they're here because of me." He elaborated at their shocked looks.

"Uh, okay. Where do we go?" Bonnie asked interested as Serena and Clemont turned to Ash, who looked away.

" _You_ guys are going with Meyer after _I_ get them out of here." Ash replied lowly.

"Ash you can't! We can win this!" Serena said as Delphox weakly stood up. Clemont and Bonnie agreed, giving determined grunts.

"No, there's too many of them. They'll outlast us all, and Lysandre hasn't even started fighting yet." Ash said. "He'll clean up what's left if I don't draw them away from here."

"Don't talk like that, Ash, we're not letting you leave without us!" Clemont yelled. "You're our best friend, it's our job to do stupid things with you, you know?" He tried to lighten the mood.

"I know. You guys are my best friends too, but I'll be back, I promise. After I loose Lysandre." Ash vowed, turning to face the opening of the tunnel.

"You don't even have a safe way out of here, you need to take us with you!" Bonnie protested, standing between Ash and the entrance. Ash smiled a sad smile.

"Sure I do, he should be here right about now." Ash informed them, exchanging another look with Pikachu by his feet. No further words needed to be exchanged between the two partners as the yellow mouse scampered up to his shoulder.

As if on cue, the ground shook upon the impact of a new fighter in the brawl and roar so loud it was intimidating the people fighting on both sides as it's figure was revealed.

There, standing dead center of the battlefield was a hulking Charizard much like Alain's own, only a tad larger than his default form. This Charizard's tail flame burned almost white-hot as it glared around the arena, looking for it's master and best friend.

Using his friend's entrance as a distraction, Ash rushed past Bonnie with one last sad smile and forced himself not to look back at his traveling companions surely shocked faces. If he did he would definitely change his mind.

"Take care of them for me, Meyer, and I'll take care of Team Flare!" Ash said as he sprinted past the older man so fast he almost missed the kid.

Once more Ash ran through battles but with renewed vigor, determined to get away with his next closest pal who was now swatting away enemies left and right with Steel Wing, unwavering in stance as his eyes locked with Ash's. He knew what Ash wanted.

"Friend of yours?" Lysandre asked Alain, who stopped to gaze upon the newly landed Charizard. Alain shook his head.

"Shame," Lysandre followed with. "It shows potential."

Lysandre's eyes widened as he saw the boy, Ketchum, darting towards the beast, unwavering even as it flapped it's great wings getting ready to take to the skies. The boy was bloody suicidal, was Lysandre's first thought. But no, he realized when the large dragon-like Pokemon turned it's back to Ketchum, the boy swiftly landing on it, wrapping his arms tightly around it's neck with his Pikachu stuck like glue on his shoulder even still.

The leader of Team Flare realized what was happening a second too late as by the time he was yelling to move out and take to the skies Ketchum's Charizard had taken off in the blink of an eye and gotten much further than an average Charizard should have gotten in that span of time.

Luckily, Lysandre noticed his team reacting to his orders as they all filed out of the league stadium to make way to their helicopters and sending their flying Pokemon (albeit that one was in vain, Lysandre knew, as nothing his grunts had could keep pace with that behemoth) to follow Ketchum.

"Alain, I want you up there too. Take your Charizard and go after him, now." Lysandre ordered, turning to the black-haired boy.

"But- sir, I've never flown on Charizard before." Alain admitted, looking back to his partner. Lysandre growled.

"Well today's your lucky day, here's your chance to." The leader retorted, taking his leave before the police closed in. Most of them were following his grunts, but you could never be too careful.

"Charizard, stop fighting and come here!" Alain ordered, breaking away from his battle with Diantha.

His Charizard was covered in dirt and scratches, still sore even from his prior battle with Greninja and doing minimal damage to Gardevoir in return was wearing him out. He ignored the champion's confused expression and turned to his starter.

"I need you to give me a lift, we need to catch up to Ash." Alain said, leaving Charizard with a shocked expression. This was the first time his trainer would fly on him and he wasn't sure if this would work as well as Alain was hoping.

Nonetheless, Charizard crouched down and presented his back to Alain. Hesitantly, Alain climbed onto Charizard and, after almost slipping off twice, stabled himself.

"Okay, let's go Charizard!" Alain said after Charizard turned to look at him.

Just as hesitantly, Charizard slowly moved off the ground and into the air, going nowhere near as fast as Ash was.

* * *

"They're… leaving?" Diantha asked herself, looking to Gardevoir and making sure she was okay. The mega Charizard they were facing may not have landed many attacks but dodging them all had taken a bigger effect on her partner than anyone but her would notice.

"It sure looks like it." Officer Jenny said, adjusting her cap as she surveyed the scene. "What did they come here for then? They didn't take anything."

"What they came here for took off flying, so they did too." Meyer said, running up to Diantha and Jenny, the kids trailing him.

"Team Flare was here looking for Ash, Diantha! He left to draw them away from here and, ugh, I can't believe it worked!" Clemont announced in distress.

Jenny, however, seemed unconcerned.

"Well in that case it looks like our job is done here. Have fun at the league, kids!" Jenny said, walking away.

This left Serena, Clemont and Bonnie enraged.

"We can't just let him go! He needs our help!" Serena insisted. Meyer and Diantha nodded.

"I know," Diantha started before she was interrupted by the familiar sound of helicopters flying.

Looking up at the sky, they stared as various helicopters passed over the stadium. Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, Meyer, Diantha and the Pokemon they had out at the moment all stood and watched the fleet of helicopters disappear into the distance in the direction Ash fled in. Quickly, Diantha turned to the others.

"Let's go, we can take my helicopter!" Diantha finished her statement, turning to leave the stadium. Ash's friends and Meyer ran to follow her, recalling all their Pokemon.

* * *

"Thanks for coming to get us, Charizard. I don't know what we'd have done without you." Ash thanked him, patting his neck gently. Charizard grunted contently, soaring through the skies.

"How'd you know what was going on anyway? I haven't talked to Liza lately at all." The raven-haired trainer asked.

Charizard had spent a while at Oak's Lab in Kanto after Ash returned to Unova, but returned to the Charicific Valley to visit Charla, his mate, who had recently laid two eggs. Ash had chosen not to bring back Charizard after hearing they hatched, wanting one of his closest friends to spend some time with his family. Ash hadn't spoken to Liza since halfway through his Kalos journey, which was also the last time he saw the fully evolved Kanto starter.

Charizard grunted and growled a few times, letting out a roar at the end as if to make his point stronger. Ash and Pikachu chuckled.

"You saw me on TV again, huh? I guess Liza was watching my battles. You didn't like that I was getting attacked. Or that I didn't call you for the battle." Ash realized, petting his friend again. "Sorry buddy, I just wanted you to spend some time with your family."

Charizard growled again, turning around to look at Ash. Ash and Pikachu smiled as they grinned down.

"Thanks Charizard. You're a part of my family too, you know. A pretty big part." Ash told him.

"How touching. Too bad we're taking you back with us." Alain's voice rang out through the clouds. The Kanto natives turned to see the black haired trainer emerge from the clouds under them riding on his Mega Charizard X.

"That's not gonna happen." Ash said, determined.

"Oh really? While the two of you were having your little heart-to-heart, Lysandre's most likely almost caught up to us." Alain told him. Instead of panicking like expected, Ash smirked.

"Good, just like I wanted 'em too." He said in return, turning around to look. Sure enough, Goalbat's and Swoobat's were closing the gap and the shapes of helicopters could be made out in the clouds behind them. "Let's go a little faster, bud."

"You can't go any faster, we're already going faster than cars normally do." Alain said surely. Ash smirked again.

"Just watch us." He replied. "Show 'em, Charizard."

Sure enough, Ash's Charizard's speed increased. Not tenfold or anything, or even anything to take them out of Alain's view, but they were going fast enough to stay out of the fleets grasp and Ash wasn't even concerned about the height or the speed at which they were. He was a special one indeed.

"If they won't slow down, we have to make them. Charizard, **Flamethrower!"** Alain ordered, trying to sound demanding. In truth, he wasn't sure about having Charizard use attacks while he was riding it. Was that normal, or could lots of people do that?

 **"ThunderBolt,** Pikachu!" Ash countered.

The yellow mouse quickly fired a bolt of electricity from Charizard's back to meet the blue flames and hold them off from their target, creating an explosion. The shock-waves shook Alain, making him almost lose his grip and Charizard trying to stabilize himself.

'Let's see how he handled that.' Alain thought to himself.

To his surprise, Ash was fine. He hadn't even turned around during the commotion and Pikachu was still standing upright, as Charizard didn't even bother to slow down.

"I bet you can't keep that up!" Alain yelled as he caught up with Ash, his eyes straying downward.

"It looks like it's you that can't stay up." Ash retorted. The black-haired boy growled.

 **"Flamethrower,** again!" Alain ordered clinging on as Charizard once again spat blue flames at Ash. This time they were much closer.

"Speed up and spin!" Ash followed up immediately, Pikachu jumping to his lap as Charizard spun around, doing a complete barrel roll, the flames passing harmlessly above them. "Fire back with **Flamethrower!"**

Ash's Charizard spat flames next, the attack accelerated quickly towards its target. Alain knew he couldn't spin-dodge like Ash had, his only chance was to counter.

" **Flamethrower** too!" He decided.

The two attacks met, red and blue collided in the skies. To Alain's surprise, although he didn't know why he was surprised at this point, the attacks were equal, with both attacks exploding when they refused to let the other pass. Alain once again had to quickly adjust himself.

"It looks like they're new at this, Charizard. What do you say we give 'em a lesson?" Ash teased. Charizard nodded and looked back at Ash. Ash knew what Charizard wanted to do and nodded his approval, holding Pikachu tightly in his lap.

Before Alain could realize what was going on, Ash's Charizard turned upward and went on a steep vertical climb, turning around on the way and flying in circles, firing **Flamethrower** after **Flamethrower** at the approaching Pokemon and hitting every one.

Next Charizard flew straight at the helicopters, bobbing and weaving between blades and even attacking multiple. **Dragon Tail's** and **Slash** attacks quickly demolished a portion of vehicles, sending them crashing down below. It wasn't over as next Charizard batted away an **Air Slash** with it's wing while Ash hardly moved from his position and continued with **Dragon Tail** , easily deflecting **Hyper Beam's** from Liepard's and Houndoom's that were standing by the helicopter doors.

"That was real fun, Charizard, but it looks like reinforcements are coming in." Ash noted, becoming more alert now. Charizard nodded, done playing around with the helicopters and turned around face their get-away direction.

"You're not going anywhere, Ketchum." Lysandre said, sending out his Honchkrow. " **Dark Pulse** , go!"

Honchkrow wasted no time in firing off the ominous black rings at Charizard.

"Pikachu, **ThunderBolt!"** Ash countered. Just like before Pikachu's electric attack proved too difficult for the enemies attack to break through.

They continued to do this dance for some time, with the helicopters firing attacks and Ash maneuvering out of the way. Until Lysandre got sick of it.

"Attack at once, he can't dodge all of us!" Lysandre ordered. "Alain, you too!"

 **Flamethrowers** , **Dark Pulses** , **Hyper Beams** and **Shadow Balls** came at Ash from every direction and he realized far too late that he had let the helicopters form a circle around him. Thinking quickly, Ash gave another order.

"Dive! Dive down!" Ash cried, laying flat on Charizard's back and covering Pikachu. Charizard obeyed immediately and went into a nosedive towards what Ash now saw was water. He guessed they had flown further than they had thought.

"Now climb back up and shoot a **Fire Spin** in every direction!" Ash commanded.

Despite the strange command, Charizard acted instantly. The fire dragon pulled up and spun around, already firing flames in all directions that circled around their enemies. Ash could tell they were temporarily immobile, whether because they were stuck in a vortex of flames or because they were caught off-guard he didn't care.

"That won't hold 'em forever, let's put some distance between us." Ash said, looking down. Charizard grunted and began to speed up, only for a **Razor Wind** to cut through the air in front of him.

The Kanto trio turned to see a Talonflame, much like Ash's own, but larger. Calling orders to it front the helicopter behind it was none other than Malva of the Elite Four.

"Did you really think you could get away?" Malva taunted. Ash grit his teeth but didn't reply. "We have you surrounded, where were you going to go? Can't go up," She continued, gesturing to the incoming helicopters above them. "And you can't go down." She finished, smiling at the water below. "And you're certainly not breaking past us."

Ash looked around and he was indeed surrounded again. There were helicopters above, water below and Pokemon on all sides. Talonflame, Honchkrow and Charizard X were the primary guards, locking him in on all sides while the others hovered about.

"If we're going down, we're going down fighting." Ash said, standing up on Charizard. Pikachu stood too, cheeks sparking and Charizard released another mighty roar. Lysandre smirked from his helicopter.

"I was hoping you'd say that." He said. "Honchkrow, **Dark Pulse**!"

" **Razor Wind**!" Malva ordered again.

 **"Flamethrower,** once more!" Alain cried.

The attacks were fired so fast, all Ash could do was blink.

* * *

"Ash, no!" Serena called from Diantha's helicopter.

They had caught up just in time to see Ash take a stand against Team Flare, only to be attacked without opportunity to protect himself. Bonnie and Dedenne had to look away, both hiding their faces in Meyer's leg while Clemont looked down with clenched fists.

Diantha could do nothing but stare in shock as she was piloting the helicopter and couldn't move much. Serena too seemed too distraught to do anything but close her eyes. When the smoke from the explosion cleared the group prepared themselves to see Ash's form fall from the sky, bruised and charred.

Imagine their surprise when he had vanished from the middle of the attacks completely.

"What? He- He's gone?" Serena asked out loud, confused.

"He disappeared." Meyer stated soundly

"But- how?" Clemont asked. "How did he get away?"

* * *

"He- he disappeared, sir." Alain said staring at the site the attacks collided with shock. He wasn't sure if that was their intention, but he had been expecting Ash to fall from the explosion, not disappear completely.

"I see that, Alain." Lysandre replied shortly. He didn't like to lose, and his new favorite test subjects getting away counted as a big loss. He couldn't even be sure he was dead.

However Lysandre decided that, dead or not, they couldn't focus anymore on Ash Ketchum for the time being. The only way to explain that to his underlings was to assure them, so he put on a confident smile to keep them from thinking he had failed.

"Don't fret over it, the mission was accomplished. Eliminating Ketchum was a back-up plan, but our objectives were met here today." Lysandre assured Malva and Alain, the two closest Flare members. They both nodded and exchanged looks before turning back to their boss.

"What's next?" Malva asked as the fleet of ships turned around to head back to the Kalos mainland. Lysandre only smirked in reply.

* * *

The attacks that filled Ash's vision were quickly taken over by a blinding white light, and then… nothing. Until he felt a jolt go through his system and he shot up into a sitting position and gasping for breathe.

Composing himself, he looked around. He was on the ground now, in a field somewhere it appeared. There was grass on the ground and trees in the distance and the ground itself was mostly dirt. His partner Pikachu was scampering about in front of him, also looking about and Charizard was on the ground behind him, lying peacefully.

"Pikachu, where are we?" Ash asked, although he didn't expect the mouse to actually know. As expected, Pikachu shook his head sadly.

"Pika-chu." He said, before waddling up to Ash's side and rubbing his head against Ash's leg. Ash laughed.

"Yeah, I'm fine buddy. What about you?" Ash said, standing up and stretching.

"Chaa." Pikachu squeaked, climbing Ash's body to sit atop his perch. "Pikapi Pikachu?"

As Ash bent down to wake up Charizard, he saw a shape in the distance. After identifying it as a mountain, and looking around the landscape again, he noticed something. The three of them were currently situated at the bottom of a large crater over ten feet wide. Once again Ash looked around, this time remembering a certain set of events.

"Whoa man." Ash said, standing back up. "Pikachu, I don't think we're in Kalos anymore." Pikachu shot him a look. "We were here before once, buddy, a long time ago. A really, really long time ago." He elaborated.

Ash and Pikachu heard subtle, deep chuckles sound through the air.

" _How nice of you to remember me, Ash."_ A body-less voice echoed. Ash and Pikachu looked around, desperate to find the source. _"Of course, I remember you as well."_

And with that, the voice made themselves know. A cat-like Pokemon appeared, floating off the ground and appearing about the size of an average human. It's tail gently whipped back and forth behind it as it watched the Pallet Duo with slightly glowing eyes.

"Mewtwo!"/"Pikachuchu!"

* * *

 **Disclaimer; I don't own the Pokemon Series nor any of the characters in it represented in this story.**

* * *

 **That's Chapter One, folks.**

 **Before you all get on my case in saying that Charizard was OP… yeah, probably. But I don't think it was an unreasonable amount of overpowered-ness for something on the level we all know Charizard to be (aka on par with legendary Pokemon).**

 **Now, as the summary implies, Ash will essentially be doing a speed-run to collect new badges but with the Champion's League so near and the experience Ash has, the Gym Leaders will be much tougher than before. But my question is, how many gym leaders do you think should use mega evolution against Ash?**

 **Also my main idea for this fic was Ash/Cynthia, but I'm open to alternate suggestions and may change it later. But not to one of Ash's former traveling companions (Misty, May, Dawn, Iris or Serena), there are enough of those.**

 **Another thing that will be mostly up to you guys is whether Ash enters with an alias and reveals his identity at the end/later in the tournament or enters with his real name from the get-go so let me know your thoughts on that.**

 **Leave your answers, questions and comments in the reviews! Criticism is welcome!**


	2. Qualifications

A Hero's Rebirth

Chapter Two: Qualifications

* * *

May Maple was woken up on her previously calm and quiet morning to a shriek so loud that she was sure that the rest of the Hoenn region would've heard it. Acting quickly, she sat up and jumped out of bed. She grabbed her belt with her Pokeballs on it off of her nightstand as she rushed out of her room to the living room, dreading what she would find.

To her surprise it seemed nothing was wrong. There was here little brother Max standing by the sofa in his pajamas holding a letter, his smile big and his eyes bright. May sighed regretfully.

"I know I'll regret asking, but what's got you so happy? And was it necessary to wake up the whole of Petalburg City?" May asked shortly, tapping her foot. Max didn't seem to catch her irate tone as he answered full of joy.

"I got my qualification letter today! I can participate in the Champion's League! Do you know how big of a deal that is?" Max cheered, dancing in place. May rolled her eyes.

Ever since becoming a trainer almost five years ago, Max had improved leaps and bounds. He had traveled across many regions collecting badges like he always wanted to do, placing in the Top 32 of his first league.

"Let me see that." May said, taking the letter from her brothers' hands and ignoring his protesting 'hey!'

" _Dear Max Maple,_

 _As the current President of the Pokemon League it is my duty and pleasure to inform you that you have qualified to compete in the upcoming Champion's League. As I'm sure you know, this league is only for the best and is held only once every ten years, giving entries plenty of time to qualify! You have met the requirements of collecting five different sets of badges and entering the top eight of at least one Pokemon League._

 _The Champion's League starts in six months, giving you plenty of time to prepare. Best of luck to you, you'll need it._

 _League President,_

 _Charles Goodshow."_

"Wow Max, what an honor! You'll do great!" May said, hugging her brother tightly. Max groaned and tried to push her off, but he was smiling widely the whole time. "I've gotta go tell Dawn, we'll be there to cheer for you the whole time!"

Max smiled as his sister left to call her best friend and fellow coordinator while he looked back to the letter again and smiled. Wow, he thought, the Champion's League.

"I gotta start training right away if I want to win!" Max realized, running up the stairs to grab his Pokeballs.

* * *

"You already knew? How?" May asked on the phone with Brock.

She had just gotten off the phone with Dawn and after they agreed to go together and cheer for Max, May decided to call one of her other close friends to tell him the good news. Apparently that wasn't necessary, she realized as Brock chuckled.

"I'm an acting gym leader May, not only do we automatically qualify but we get to put in a good word for people we may know that could also qualify. I may have mentioned Max's name a few times to a few people when they asked me." Brock told her, smiling widely. May smiled right back.

"You did that for him? Thanks Brock, you're a great friend!" May said, laughing.

"I didn't do much, it was his skills that got him qualified, and all I did was point him out." Brock said modestly. "You're going too, aren't you?"

"Me and Dawn both are, why?" May questioned.

"Since Misty, Max and I all qualified I was hoping you and Dawn would come too. Kind of like a reunion, you know? We haven't talked all that much as a group since… well, you know." Brock said, trying to keep the smile on his face. May knew the feel.

"Absolutely, we'll see you then!" May ended the call after that, not giving the conversation another chance to turn down that path.

May sighed and looked around her room, eyes settling on the photo by her nightstand that was taken so many years ago. Misty stood at one end holding her Azurill while Brock stood at the other, holding Max on his shoulders as he waved his arms in the air. In front of Misty and Brock were May and Dawn respectively, both leaning in and smiling big at the camera.

In the center of it all was a boy with raven hair and a Pikachu situated happily on his right shoulder. Ash Ketchum and his faithful Pikachu stood there looking happy and fearless as ever. That had been the last time May and Max had seen them.

Misty and Dawn too hadn't seen him after that day, both returning home the same day as May and Max. Brock had spoken to him two days later before Ash left for the Kalos Region, but that was it. The last time they heard from him before he disappeared in the Kalos Region over four years ago.

Unbeknownst to May at the time, Misty, Dawn and Brock were all also captivated by the very same photograph.

* * *

"So you did qualify, Clemont? How cool!" Serena squealed. On the screen were Clemont and Bonnie, both smiling widely at her.

"I know that all acting gym leaders qualify, but it's still a really big deal for me. This will be the biggest competition I've ever been a part of!" Clemont said excitedly.

"And I just know you'll do great!" Bonnie added.

"I know it too. When does it start? I'd love to go watch you compete!" Serena asked next. Clemont pushed up his glasses as he glanced back down at the letter.

"Says here it doesn't start for another six months." He told her.

"Why so long?" Serena questioned, confused. Clemont shrugged.

"Well it is the biggest competition that there is, I'm sure they need time to prepare it for the battles, find a suitable location, send out these letters and know who's able to participate. It makes sense that it would take a while to get everything ready." The electric gym leader explained.

"I guess." Serena agreed, downcast before her eyes perked up. "Maybe I'll come and see you before that, six months is such a long time."

"Ooh will you Serena, will you please? It gets so boring here and we miss seeing you everyday!" Bonnie cried, making Serena and Clemont laugh.

"I know Bonnie, I miss you guys too. I'll do what I can, okay?" She promised, getting two nods in return.

Shortly after they exchanged goodbyes and the screen went blank as Serena spun around and dropped her bag on the table in front of the monitor. She began digging through it until she reached what she wanted, an old picture frame.

Inside the frame was a group photo, taken just before the Kalos League over four years ago.

Clemont and Bonnie sat on the floor, leaning against Clemont's Luxray, which was lying peacefully on the ground while Dedenne rested on Bonnie's head. On the other end stood Serena and her Delphox, standing back-to-back and looking at the camera.

In the center of the photo stood Ash Ketchum and his Greninja, both facing the camera with an arm thrown over each others shoulders. Ash's Pikachu sat on Ash's head as he stared at the camera. Both Pokemon and their trainer wore matching grins the time the photo was taken.

That day was more than four years ago, but to Serena it felt like yesterday.

* * *

Gary Oak smirked as he walked into his grandfathers' lab, not bothering to knock. He quickly climbed the stairs to get from the labs to Oak's study where he was sure the old man would be. Sure enough, Professor Oak sat at his desk reading from a book, even this early in the morning.

"Jeez gramps, don't you get any sleep?" Gary teased, leaning against the door-frame. "Or do you go to bed at eight pm like all the other old people?"

"Nice to see you too, Gary." Oak muttered. "I slept fine thanks for asking, but you know what they say-"

"-Early bird gets the worm-" The Oak's said at the same time. The Professor rolled his eyes.

"I know, I know. You say it all the time." Gary said, bored.

Oak sighed. He loved his grandson, he really did, but sometimes he was a pain in his arse.

"Do you mind telling me what you came all this way for?" Oak asked. "Last time I talked to you, you were in the Hoenn Region helping Professor Birch with field research."

"I just though I'd come tell you the exciting news in person." Gary started. "The Champion's League is returning this year and it starts in six months. Letters to qualifiers were sent out last week, so most of them should be received by now."

Oak stood up and turned around quickly. The Champion's League was a very big deal.

"Why wasn't I told about this?" Oak asked. He was a very big name in the Pokemon League; surely someone would have thought to send word to him. Unless… "Did you tell everybody not to tell me so you could come do it yourself?"

Gary's smirk told him most of the answer and his shrug told him the rest. 'Yes', it said, 'because I wanted a reason to come home.'

"And Goodshow told a few people this years location already. The rest of the staff and participants will be informed in another few months or so." Gary told him. "It's going to be held on Lily of the Valley Isle this year."

Oak nodded his understanding. It had been up for debate the last two times whether the Island could hold as many people as the Champion's League would bring it and after a certain Sinnoh League a few years back where a competitor entered with legendary Pokemon people flocked to the island to watch the Sinnoh League every year. Goodshow must have finally accepted that the Lily of the Valley Isle would be a fine place to hold the league, especially considering most of the hotels were a ways away and on the mainland.

"Are you participating, Gary?" He asked, unsure. His grandson may be a researcher now but he knew that the boy was a sucker for a good Pokemon battle, and in no way did being a researcher slow him down in training.

To his surprise, however, Gary shook his head.

"No thanks, I don't have the time to get all the badges necessary and I'm not a regional professor yet so I don't have enough seniority to participate otherwise." Gary told his grandfather, who nodded with a chuckle.

"Yes I see how that could be a problem." Oak said as he turned back around, signaling the end of that conversation.

"Alright gramps, I'll leave you alone for now, but I'm in Pallet for at least another week." Gary said, leaving and shutting the door behind him.

Nodding to himself as he left the lab, he remembered he had one last piece of business to attend to.

* * *

Paul looked down at his qualification letter with narrowed eyes, reading through it carefully. He smirked to himself, proud that he had qualified without realizing it. Truthfully, he had forgot the Champion's League was being held this year.

Now that he knew though, he knew that he and his Pokemon had training to do. Walking out back of his house to where Reggie let's his Pokemon stay he became lost in thought over the letter once more.

'I wonder if he'll be there…'

* * *

 _Prepare yourself for some really good food!_

 _Make it double, you look like one hungry dude!_

 _To protect your stomach from starvation!_

 _To spread our food across the nation!_

 _To denounce the evils of food, nasty and under-cooked!_

 _To make sandwiches so well, you're sure to get hooked!_

 _Jessie!_

 _James!_

 _Team Rocket, making food at the speed of light!_

 _Order now and you're in for a delight!_

 _Meowth, that's right!_

 _Wobbuffet!_

Gary sweat dropped. He knew they worked at the sandwich shop in Viridian City and he had even come here to speak with them, but he could never, ever get past the motto.

"Do you really have to do that every time? You know who I am and I know who you are." He complained.

"Look twerp it's a part of the package. You get us, you get the motto." Jessie scoffed. James nodded as he quickly assembled a sandwich with things so quickly Gary missed the ingredients.

"Order 43." James said, dinging the bell. "What do you want, Gary, if you're not here for sandwiches."

"I need you to get me a message to, well, you know." Gary said, his voice turning into a whisper. He didn't want anyone else to overhear.

"What makes you think we still know where he is?" Jessie replied stubbornly.

"Because I know you and I know him. You guys are the only people he would've run into since he disappeared, you guys used to cross paths all the time. I know for a fact you've done him favors before". Gary replied, just as stubbornly.

He wasn't stupid, he knew that the Trio always knew the general vicinity of his friend, they were far too familiar with each other to not. And it seemed like Arceus agreed with him, as meetings between them were not a rare occurrence.

"Look I don't want to know where he is and I don't want to start a fight. Just- make sure he gets this, okay? That's it." Gary assured them, taking a small box out of his sling-on bag and sliding it across the counter.

Jessie, James and Meowth stopped what they were doing to look at each other, to the box, at Gary and back to each other before nodding in unison. It was Jessie that picked it off the counter-top and carefully moved it to the shelf in the back, nodding at Gary as she walked into the back.

That was all the confirmation that Gary needed and he showed himself out of the shop with a quick 'thank you', eager to get home before his grandfather realized he'd left town.

After all, Oak didn't need to know that he, a Pokemon researcher, was using a bumbling trio of Team Rocket agents to deliver a letter to the thought-to-be-dead Ash Ketchum, now did he?

* * *

"Are you sure it's not too late to change the location Mr. Goodshow?" Cynthia Shirona, the Champion of the Sinnoh Region practically begged. Goodshow shook his head.

"I'm sorry Cynthia but the arrangements have already been made and we can't get another place that can support something like the Champion's League on such short notice. Renovations and set-ups commence in a weeks time, you know." Goodshow answered, ignoring Cynthia's sigh.

Cynthia was at least relieved he didn't ask why she was so adamant about changing the location. It wouldn't be fun to explain that she didn't like being there anymore than she had to be, the island itself bringing back unwanted memories, and as a Champion she did have to go. She couldn't not participate in the Champion's League after all, especially not when she was considered the strongest champion there was.

"I understand sir." Cynthia said simply, nodding her peace as she walked out of the hallway they were in and outside the building.

Goodshow had brought her and her elite four together to tell them the 'good news' of the League's location this year. There had already been several others informed that morning but Goodshow always liked to do those types of things in person, so he had flown in from Hoenn to do so.

She respected and admired the old man, she really did, but dammit he could be so stubborn sometimes.

* * *

"Wow so you really get to participate too, Cilan?" Iris asked excitedly. Cilan had just phoned her from Striaton City to tell her the news. They were both excited since now they could go compete together, Iris being the Unova Champion was already more than qualified.

"Sure do, my brothers decided to step down on this one and let me represent the Striaton Gym in the Champion's League! What an honor!" Cilan replied back excitedly.

Iris smiled back widely at the green-haired man. She couldn't wait until they got to see each other again!

* * *

Dawn was packing excitedly.

She knew the league didn't start for another six months, but that was way to long to sit home and wait for it to start! She was on about to be on her way to the Hoenn Region to visit May for a while, if not until the League started.

There wasn't much keeping her in Sinnoh these days anymore anyway. Buneary had quickly grown tired of the modeling gig, not finding it nearly as exciting as competing in contests so Dawn had picked up and began journeying again, going through the Kanto Region with May.

"Dawn! What's got you so excited?" Dawn could hear her mothers voice from downstairs. She had most likely heard the commotion Dawn was causing in her room… she wasn't exactly being quiet.

"I'm going to the Hoenn Region, mom! To visit May again before the Champion's League starts!" Dawn yelled back excitedly. Piplup chirped from her bed.

"And when was this decided?" Johanna asked after a pause. It took Dawn a moment to register that her mother was now in the doorway to her room.

"Uh, this morning?" The younger coordinator replied back, unsure.

Johanna sighed. Ever since her first journey it seemed that her daughter had trouble staying in one place for too long, always eager to get out and go somewhere else even if that somewhere else was somewhere she had already been. This wouldn't be the first time her and May had arranged a spur of the moment visit and it probably wouldn't be the last either.

Well, she told herself, traveling alongside Ash and Brock on her first journey probably had something to do with her spontaneous tendencies.

"When do you leave?" Johanna asked with an affectionate roll of her eyes. Dawn smiled brightly and jumped to hug her mother, thanking her for her approval.

"Tomorrow," Dawn said, pulling away. "Tomorrow afternoon."

"You'd better get to packing then," Her mother told her. Dawn nodded, warping back to her dresser. "I'll make your favorite sandwiches for lunch."

Dawn and Piplup's eyes practically had stars in them as they gazed appreciatively at the older bluenette.

 **That's it for this chapter guys! Shorter than the last one, I know, but that's only because I wanted to save Ash's 'reveal' for next chapter so expect future chapters to be a good deal longer.**

 **Just so you guys know all these events are happening on the same day. Everything from the start of the chapter up until Paul's bit is happening simultaneously, in the morning hours. Everything after Paul is happening that same afternoon, also simultaneously.**

 **If anyone has any questions on something going on or hinted at that's going on feel free to ask and if I don't plan on revealing it as part of the story later I'll let you know in the authors notes of the chapters! Also, as you can see I changed the idea up a bit, instead of Ash HAVING to go recollect gym badges he'll do it as a last push of his training before he competes in the Champion's League so a special thanks to Vital Info for the idea!**

 **It also seems Ash will be entering with an alias to make his life easier for now, but hey, the truth always comes out. I've also been toying with the idea of a multi-ship story for Ash? Whether the ships will be at different times or turn into a harm I'm not sure. If a harem it would only be two or three girls, so thoughts on that? Or should it strictly be Rayshipping (which seems to be the majority for now) throughout?**

 **Let me know what Pokemon you guys think Ash will have/should have when he returns, because he will have new ones in addition to the canon ones. And no, he won't be getting ALL of his previous Pokemon back. Now then, onto the reviews!**

* * *

 **Axel Davis:** _ **By the time Ash returns he will be over eighteen years old, almost nineteen. Cynthia wouldn't be any older than 25 at this point, which, in my personal opinion, isn't bad. I'm not saying that age is just a number, because it does matter, but at this particular point Rayshipping certainly isn't disgusting.**_

 **Vital Info:** _ **Ash's dealings with Team Flare will be explained later on, and is still an on-going affair so there will definitely be more of that later. Next, fret not; I have come up with an alias for Ash that isn't either of those names! As for him getting back Pokemon, well, you are correct that he won't get them all back.**_

 **Maerk Andrew:** _ **Ash will not have officially captured Mewtwo or any other legends, but they may obey him in a fight if he asked. Mewtwo especially. As for Aura, yes, Ash will use aura. But he won't be a master or even proficient with it. Basically he'll know a little more than the basics as learning how to master aura wasn't the intention while he was away.**_

 **Guest:** _ **Again, in this fic Cynthia won't be 'way' older than Ash. But don't worry, I don't intend to let the relationship/s, if any, get in the way of the plot and I'm using it to make it more interesting because a good portion of this is just an excuse to write a lot of, hopefully, awesome battles. So if you're concern is the watering down other plot elements I can assure you I'll do my best not to let that happen.**_


	3. Back From Hermit to Hero

A Hero's Rebirth

Chapter Three: Back From Hermit to Hero

* * *

A man sighed as he walked along the beach, dead center between water and tree line. The man was about average height, if not slightly over, at five foot and ten inches with medium length black hair that poked out from under his large Aura Guardian-like hat.

Even on the beach on such a hot day he was still in a blue cloak that hid a white t-shirt and light blue traveling pants. The man easily transitioned from his sigh into whistling a tune as he walked, knowing he was coming up on his destination shortly. As he rounded a bend he saw it, his house.

For so long now this was the place he came back to so he could rest, the place he considered home. If he wasn't training in the harsh, cold climate of Mt. Silver or the sweltering deserts of Orre or even the unforgiving currents of the Sevii Islands, he was here.

There was a nice size house built, made from whatever he could find on the island. Primarily it was logs and branches, it wasn't pretty and it wasn't overly accommodating, but they managed. And whenever a storm got too bad there was always the cave they had dug out of the inactive volcano on the island.

They being he and his Pokemon of course, and boy, were there a lot of them.

" _About time your lazy ass got back,"_ A little yellow mouse said, scurrying to perch itself on the man's shoulder. _"We've been waiting for you."_

Understanding the little guy was no trouble, as long as he knew the Pokemon well enough his aura could decipher whatever they were saying to him. It was like they were speaking the same language.

"I left ten minutes ago, what was the hurry?" The man replied back.

" _Ash, Pikachu, you guys should come over here. Like, now!"_ Another voice called, disrupting the now 'revealed' Ash and Pikachu from their conversation and drawing their attention.

Ash hurried over to the hut to stand by a lot of his other Pokemon, who were staring off into the distance. He wondered what they were looking at before a shape came into view, just barely, over the horizon, and seemed to be getting larger.

"I'm sure it's nothing guys, we get the occasional plane fly-by even here." Ash assured them.

Though, he could see why they were confused and interested. Their island was halfway between Johto and Hoenn, but to the north of Hoenn and west of Johto, out of the way of any airplanes. It would be bad flying if they detoured enough to fly over them, considering it was almost a straight shot between the two region's airports.

Usually flyovers only happened here when a storm was forming or moving between the planes path, but there was no signs of that anywhere today. The only other option was the plane was coming from Orre, which was to the south-west of the island, but that didn't seem to be the case.

After a few seconds went by and the shape got closer the Pokemon visibly relaxed and Ash smiled a bit.

'Leave it to them to come find me all the way out here.' He thought to himself. Granted he told them where he spent most of his time but he didn't think they would ever come track him down, much less in his new home.

Nevertheless he let himself smile wider as the familiar Meowth shaped hot-air balloon drew ever closer and the figures standing inside the basket were as recognizable as ever. Jessie and James stood looking down at him with Meowth on James' shoulder and Wobbuffet at Jessie's side.

Just like always, when they got close enough they began their customary greeting.

 _Prepare yourself to receive good news!_

 _Make it double or you'll have a case of the blues!_

 _To protect you from solitude and isolation!_

 _To once again unite you and words nations!_

 _To denounce the evils of delivering mail!_

 _To extend our reach back out to your trail!_

 _Jessie!_

 _James!_

 _Team Rocket, delivering messages at the speed of light!_

 _Take this package now and we'll be home by tonight!_

 _Meowth, that's right!_

 _Wobbuffet!_

Ash and Pikachu sweat dropped.

"They never change, do they buddy?" Ash asked rhetorically.

The electric type just shook his head and watched with his trainer as the other Pokemon spread out and allowed Team Rocket a space to land to the side of Ash's house. The Rockets practically warped from the balloon basket to in front of the Pallet Natives, pulling them both in for a group hug.

"Jeez you guys are acting like my Pokemon when I come home." Ash said, hesitantly hugging back. Just as quickly they all pulled away, standing before the two again like that didn't just happen.

"Now that we got that out of the way," James started.

"We have somethin' for ya." Meowth followed up as Jessie presented him a small cardboard box.

So many questions ran through Ash's mind as he took the small box with a quirked eyebrow.

"Who sent this? How did they know I was even still alive? How did they know you could find me?" Ash asked in rapid succession, holding the small box carefully. Pikachu stood on his arm, sniffing at the item.

"You'll see when you open it, now won't you?" Jessie teased.

Ash gave an irritable sigh as marched over to where Charizard and Garchomp were laying down on the other side of the house, nudging Garchomp with his foot.

"I need to borrow your claw." Ash insisted, holding the box up. Garchomp nodded, using his claw to gently tear open the sealed box. Next, he made his way inside with the trio following. They also wanted to know the box's contents.

The first thing in the box was a handwritten letter, handwriting Ash recognized immediately. He should have figured.

" _Hey Ash,_

 _Long time no see, huh? I always knew you were alive, I never doubted you for a minute. Especially not after I caught you on grandpa's security tapes breaking into the lab and taking all your Pokemon. Don't worry, I didn't tell anyone. I figured you had to have a good reason not coming back and breaking contact like you did. On another note, I see you've gotten cleverer. Who would suspect that the guys who followed you across six regions to steal from you were the only people who had contact with you? Well, who other than myself of course._

 _I'm not going to try and convince you that you should come back or anything, but I thought that you'd like to know that the Champion's League is taking place again this year. It would be the first one you can compete in, would you really want to miss it? Because I already know your answer, and you need five sets of badges to qualify, I took the liberty of snagging your old badges from your house this morning. Don't worry, Ash, you can thank me later._

 _I wasn't sure if you wanted to use you're real name, since I don't know how that situation with Team Flare ended, so I un-registered them. Re-registering them is easy enough if you have access to a Pokedex, which I'm sure you do, and you can sync them to any name you want. If you do use a fake name, I can pull some strings for you and fudge some tournament records, provided you give me the name._

 _That's pretty much it. I'd tell you how we're all doing, but you don't get off that easy. If you want to know, you gotta come see me. Anyway, I hope to see you at the league, Ash. Remember, six months._

 _Smell ya later Ashy-boy,_

 _Gary"_

Ash finished reading the letter with an amused smile. Leave it to Gary to figure out that he was alive and kicking and that he did still have frequent contact with Jessie and James. Well, frequent compared to everyone else. It couldn't be helped, really, they had accidentally crossed paths multiple times in the first year of Ash's disappearance alone, and it was just easier to actually keep in touch.

Also leave it to Gary to get him his badges back while he was on a remote island for years because, sure enough, inside the box was each set of badges and frontier symbols he had earned in glass frames. He wasn't kidding when he said he snagged them, they were taken straight fromhis mothers' mantel in the living room and Ash doubted his mother approved that Gary had taken them.

"How long ago did he give you this?" Ash asked, looking back up to the trio. They shrugged.

"A little over a week ago, maybe? Can't have been more than two weeks now." James replied for everyone.

Ash smiled. He could work with that, he decided, taking a pen of his own and scribbling something to the back of Gary's letter. He nodded in satisfaction before handing the letter over to the Jessie, telling her to make sure Gary got it.

* * *

The trio had left shortly after, wanting to make it back to Johto before nightfall. They had made him promise to find them before he went to compete, which they knew he decided to do, and with that they were off.

Left to his own devices once more, Ash went inside once more to stand at his small wooden countertop staring at the box Gary had sent him. Inside were his all his badges, every one from Kanto to Kalos, plus his Frontier Symbols.

'Man, all these are required for the Champion's League, huh? Must be more intense than I thought.' Ash thought to himself.

He was confident his Pokemon could handle it. They were all on elite level at least, a great portion on the level of a champion. Then of course, he had those whose strength rivaled the legendary Pokemon. Over the last four years there had been a lot of training done. There wasn't much else to do, after all, and all of his Pokemon were eager to get fighting again so training hard was the obvious solution.

But outside of each other the only challenge they had recently was when he decided to take Team Rocket down once and for all. It had been a long time coming, but Giovanni's empire had fallen and most of the organization was behind bars now. That had been a year ago now and since then Team Flare, the only other criminal gang still formed, hadn't made a peep.

Aqua, Magma, Galactic and Plasma were all taken down years before hand, back when he was journeying with his friends. Rocket was the longest standing and once they finally fell, Ash guessed even Lysandre was on edge, like he was expecting something.

He shouldn't be, truthfully. Ash had been in and out of Team Flare's business, never wanting to stay too long because he was sure they'd discover his existence. He was also sure they thought he was dead by now, no reason to prove them wrong and especially not before he knew what they wanted from him.

In fact all he knew about their goals was that they were seeking to create new world order, just like every other villainous team, and that Lysandre had taken a rather intense and particular interest in mega evolution. The amount of information he had wasn't enough to go against Team Flare, whether he could take them in a fight or not. He had to know what he was stopping to stop it properly.

And, again, getting too close to Team Flare could prove to be the wrong decision entirely so Ash was forced into a standstill with the organization. That was the case for now, anyways.

" _Whatcha thinking about, Ash?"_ Pikachu asked, jumping onto the counter. Ash smiled.

"Nothing important, bud, just about Gary's present." Ash said, looking back into the box. Pikachu, too, poked his head in.

" _Wow he really got 'em all, didn't he?"_ Pikachu asked again, filled with good memories as he looked at his and Ash's past achievements. His trainer nodded. _"So, what're we gonna do for six months until we can fight in the tournament, Ash?"_

"Ordinarily, I'd say we would just train harder here until we can compete." Ash started, turning around.

" _But?"_ The electric mouse pushed, jumping onto Ash's shoulder.

"But looking at all these badges gives me another idea." He responded, crossing his arms. "Pi, how would you feel about visiting familiar grounds?"

Pikachu looked at Ash confused for a moment, but quickly looked back at the box of badges and understood. Ash's starter gave a delighted cry in response.

" _Do you mean what I think you mean? Because if that's what you mean, I'm all in!"_ Pikachu told him, nuzzling Ash's face.

Ash smiled gratefully before continuing.

"Do you think the others will like the idea? I know they're getting tired of battling with just each other, but they might not want to leave the island. I mean it's like our home here now." Ash asked his partner, who shrugged.

" _I'm sure they'll be happy, Ash. Everybody out there loves a good battle and we'd all follow you anywhere."_ Pikachu assured him.

"Yeah you're probably right." Ash decided. "Well, only one way to find out."

And with that the duo made their way out the door into the hot sun once more. Only a small group of Pokemon could be seen still loitering around the house, for a lot of them liked to spend their time venturing around the island.

"Hey bud, would you mind signaling everybody?" Ash asked.

Ash had worked up a system with his Pokemon. Pikachu's **ThunderBolt** was to act like a beacon system that should tell all of his other Pokemon no matter where they were or what they were doing they needed to congregate where it was fired from. It was an effective system, second only to Venusaur's **Solar Beam** signaling which could actually change colors and signal specific Pokemon or groups, but Venusaur was nowhere to be seen at the moment so, **ThunderBolt** it was.

Sure enough, after the mouse released the powerful arc of electricity into the air, Ash's other Pokemon began to emerge from the woodwork in no time.

* * *

"I'm sure you guys all want to know what Team Rocket was doing here today, huh?" Ash started, pausing to let his audience give cries of agreement. "Well, they came to deliver us a message from an old friend. I think you all remember Gary Oak, right?"

Once more his Pokemon reacted with cries, almost all of them affirming Ash's question.

"I don't know how he did it, but he found us. He gave Team Rocket a message to get to us, and I'm glad they did. Gary's message was to tell me about the upcoming tournament, the greatest tournament that gets held only once every ten years and its entrees are the toughest of the tough. The Champion's League is no joke and the qualification standards are quite high to meet." Ash continued, pausing. "Good thing we've already qualified."

The reaction skyrocketed, cheers and roars echoing across the island.

"So what do you guys say? Do you think we're ready to go back and show the world what we're made of?" Ash asked, pumping his fist in the air. Not a single Pokemon declined, all of them eager to return and show the world they were nothing short of the strongest of their species.

"Alright, that's the spirit I'm looking for! Now, the tournament doesn't start for another six months," The raven-haired teen started again, only to be met with groans. He continued on, undeterred. "But I think I have a good idea of what we can do in the mean time."

This definitely piqued their interest. What did their trainer have in mind, they all wondered at once. The smile on his face gave away nothing and Pikachu, who seemed to be in on the secret, as always, looked ecstatic as he watched their reactions.

"Gary sent me a package with all the badges we've collected over the years so I could register myself if I wanted, but they've given me another idea. I want to go back and re-challenge all these gym leaders as the last push of our training before the Champion's League. Think about it, these gym badges represent some of the most intense battles we've ever been in and they've made us a lot stronger before, so why wouldn't they make us stronger now?" Ash told them.

"Now," Ash started again after a beat of silence. "I won't make you come and participate if you don't want to leave, I understand if any of you don't feel ready to leave or-"

Before he could even finish the sentence, his Pokemon started to throw out cries of protests, signaling that none of them felt that way. Ash smiled out at them.

"Thanks guys, I knew you'd be with me." He said next, before standing up and pumping his fist into the air. "Now, everybody get ready, this is gonna be intense! We only have six months to finish this new journey so we're already pressed for time, we'll leave after dinner and hope to get to the mainland by nightfall!" Ash said, earning another round of cheers.

After that, Ash's Pokemon spread out to prepare before they embarked on this new journey as Ash and Pikachu retreated to the house to pack a few things that they would need.

* * *

"Hello?" Reggie answered the phone. He paused a beat. "Paul, it's for you."

The purple haired young man looked up from studying his Pokedex in the kitchen to gaze questioningly at his older brother. Who would call here for him? Why would anyone call for him? He wasn't a very social person by any means.

The only thing he could even think this would relate back to was… Quickly, Paul stood up and made his way to take the phone from his brother's hand, dismissing him from the room almost immediately. Reggie, long since used to Paul's attitude, rolled his eyes and exited the room.

"Ash?" Paul asked, unsure. It had to be, really. Nobody else would call him on his home line.

" _Prepare for trouble over the phone!"_ A female voice sang in reply. Paul scrunched his face.

" _Make it double, she's not alone!"_ A male voice sang next.

Paul hung up the phone.

It took all of five seconds, however, for the phone to ring again. Paul sighed and hoped against hope it would be someone else. As Paul soon found out, it wasn't.

"What do you three want? How did you even get this number?" Paul growled out. He got nervous laughter in response.

" _The twerp gave it to us a while ago. He said it was a safety precaution."_ Jessie, Paul recognized her voice, replied.

"Does this call have anything to do with that safety precaution?" Paul asked next.

" _Well, not exactly. More like a 'we thought you'd like to know' kind of thing."_ Meowth's voice came next.

"Go on then, out with it." Paul demanded. He never could stand those three and them dancing around something to do with Ash wasn't helping.

He had never been close with Ash, not even after the Sinnoh League. Sure they didn't despise each other anymore, but they weren't friends. Even so, when Paul heard about Ash's disappearance, he couldn't wrap his head around it. How had Ash gone missing? It didn't seem like the trainer he knew to run away from a fight, nor lose such an important one. And so many people presuming that he was dead didn't make sense considering the lack of evidence. On the other hand there wasn't much evidence to support the other side of the argument either. But the whole situation didn't sit right with Paul.

It wasn't until nearly three years after Ash's disappearance that Paul's gut was proven correct. After almost three years of being completely dead to the world, Ash Ketchum showed up again and his first task was bringing down a criminal empire. Nevertheless, it seemed that only he put it together.

Once Paul heard that there was a mysterious trainer taking on Team Rocket, he thought they were insane. Then he thought they were a good person and a good trainer. And then he still thought they were goddamn insane. So naturally his mind wandered to the missing teen, the only person Paul knew that was crazy and determined enough to take on the entirety of Team Rocket alone.

He wasn't entirely sure even still, but if it was his old rival Paul wanted in.

Paul had found him, on the same day he first appeared in the news as a mystery, in Viridian Forest. He tried to get Ash to talk about what happened in Kalos, but all he gave up was that he was on Team Flare's hit list and needed to disappear. Paul didn't push the issue.

He did, however, push to be let in on Ash's 'defeat Team Rocket' expedition. It took some convincing, but Ash eventually relented. Between the two of them, Team Rocket didn't last another two weeks. That was the last time Paul had seen or heard anything of Ash, even though they promised to battle soon, and Ash had made him promise not to tell anyone about anything. Not the fact that they made contact, the fact that he was alive or even the fact that he was the one taking down Team Rocket. So Paul kept his word and never said a thing to anyone about the events that took place over those two weeks.

Didn't stop him from wondering if Ash would ever return for good, though.

" _The twerp's qualified for the Champion's League."_ James said, interrupting Paul's thoughts.

Paul smirked.

"Will he show up?" Paul asked, now interested.

" _He wouldn't be the twerp if he didn't."_ Jessie responded.

Paul smirked even more and hung up the phone right after, not bothering to exchange pleasantries with the trio. The purple-haired teen walked confidently out of the back door to greet his various Pokemon who were all either training or relaxing until they noticed his presence. It didn't take long before he had their undivided attention.

"Guess who's coming back to compete in the Champion's League?" Paul stated cryptically.

Even so, his Pokemon quickly put it together. There wasn't much other people their trainer would express so much interest in battling aside from the champion's themselves.

"Alright, time to work even harder! Honchkrow, twenty laps around the city! Aggron, try and move Torterra! Torterra, resist. Electivire, -"

Paul continued to rattle off demands, all the while his Pokemon grinned with a determined glint in their eyes.

* * *

Later that evening, Ash had packed what he would bring with him on this new journey. Everything managed to squeeze into his backpack, surprisingly enough. In his backpack was the essentials; a toothbrush and toothpaste, a few bottles of water, a folded up sleeping bag, a spare change of clothes and a few cans of Pokemon food. He made sure to leave enough room to hold the Pokeballs that wouldn't fit around his waist.

He didn't need much else; he wasn't planning on trekking across the regions this time anyways. The sleeping back was only on the off-change he needed to spend a night between cities, which he was hoping he wouldn't need to do a lot. Only one change of clothes was necessary, to alternate between the two when one was dirty. He could buy another one later if it came down to it anyway. He wasn't expecting to need the Pokemon food either, as most of his Pokemon preferred natural stuff like fruits and berries and even if his cooking had improved, Brock and his mother's cooking had spoiled them all rotten. Some of them even preferred people food like Pikachu did.

And so, armed with the essentials, Ash exited his island shelter one last time to come across his Pokemon family all waiting eagerly. Ash smiled.

"I'm glad to see you're all ready to go, guys." Ash said to them. "This is your last chance if you want to bail out, I'll understand. I could leave you here for a while, or with Gary maybe-" The young man was cut off with cries of protest, and he quickly got the message that nobody was going anywhere besides with him on his journey. He smiled again, touched. "You guys are the greatest, you know that? Thanks."

" _So Ash, where to first?"_ Pikachu asked from the front of the herd of Pokemon. Ash chuckled nervously.

"I-uh, I hadn't really thought that far yet." He admitted, scratching the back of his head. His Pokemon sweat dropped, knowing they should've expected such an answer from their trainer. "Where do you guys think?" Ash asked, pondering.

He looked back on all of his adventures, all of the good times coming to mind. There was one league that stuck out in his mind, however, that he just KNEW he should've placed better in. Luckily, Pikachu seemed to be on the same page.

" _I think we should redeem ourselves to the land of Unova, ol' pal."_ Pikachu gave his opinion. There were murmurs of agreement that rumbled through his audience.

"Looks like we're two peas in a pod, Pi. I was just thinking we should've done a lot better there." Ash said, nodding. "Now remember, we're not competing in the individual leagues. We're just going through the gyms to pass the time with training until it's time for the real thing to start, so I'm going to try to use all of you evenly."

They all smiled at that. None of them wanted to miss a chance to prove how strong they had gotten.

"Alright guys, let's get moving. Unless you're Pikachu or Charizard, I need to back in your balls for now. Return everyone." Ash cried out. He knew that they had all gotten extremely used to not spending much time in their Pokeballs, but he didn't exactly have another choice right now, and they knew it too. So the group all began to reluctantly return themselves.

* * *

"That's the last of 'em." Ash said, putting a final Pokeball inside his backpack. Quickly, he turned to Pikachu. "Ready, bud?"

Pikachu climbed Charizard in response as he was beginning to crouch down for Ash to get on his back. Ash got the hint and slung his pack over his shoulder, expertly jumping onto his fire dragons back behind his little yellow partner.

"Alright! Charizard, to Unova! And fast!" Ash commanded.

So, with a mighty roar, the three Kanto natives took off at blinding speeds towards the far away land.

* * *

 **This was kind of a filler chapter in case you couldn't tell; mostly there to serve as exposition (although I tried not to spill everything at once because some of it will come up later) so hopefully you can forgive me. I hope to have the first of Ash's Gym Battles happen in the next chapter, and in case you didn't know I am using the Black and White 2 timeline since I mentioned Iris was Unova's Champion.**

 **Also, how do you guys feel about him starting in Unova this time? I didn't want to literally repeat the anime step-by-step so I thought this would be a nice change of pace.**

 **I purposely didn't mention many Pokemon by name because I'm still debating on Ash's new ones and how many he'll have, I have a lot of ideas already and not all of them will be used but your suggestions are still welcome. You never know, I might like one of your suggestions better than my own ideas!**

 **Couple other things I wanted opinions on, though. Namely;**

 **First is how often Team Rocket should show up. I don't really mind them, they're fun to write and I admittedly enjoy coming up with variations for their motto, but I don't want to overuse them to the point it bothers everyone.**

 **Second is Pikachu. I'm considering evolving Pikachu to have him keep up better with (or even surpass) Ash's other powerhouse Pokemon and to help in the 'not recognizing Ash' thing. At the very least a Raichu on his shoulder wouldn't be as immediately obvious.**

 **Third is shipping again. It seems that the majority is for strictly Rayshipping, so that's the way I'll go. There may be times when Ash is in a relationship with someone else (maybe, maybe not) but Rayshipping will most likely be endgame. I may have jumped the shark a little with thinking about attempting a harem in my first fic. Whoops.**

* * *

 **Anyway, that's all for now. Onto your reviews!**

 **Werewingwolfxx:** _**It wouldn't be wrong by any means, I'll definitely take your opinions into account. I have ideas of my own but nothing is certain yet.**_

 **Hey Yo:** _ **Ha-ha, I blame people like Clemont who put too much trust into technology instead of listening to the gut that tells them 'THIS PERSON IS OBVIOUSLY EVIL'**_

 **Vital Info:** _ **Pretty much, I considered only making it 128 to narrow it, but when all is said and done there's about 90 people pre-qualifying, which is way too close to 128 to be anything other than a glorified Elite Four Challenge, and is even just under a third of 256, so it's still plenty.**_

 _ **There will be multiple prizes, and I don't want to spoil them all as they'll be revealed later but one of them involves money. You'll hear about previous winners of the league later as well, but due to the large increment of time between tournaments, they aren't exactly as common as League winners.**_

 _ **That's the route I'll most likely go, as mentioned above I might have bit off more than I thought with writing a harem. Also, it has indeed been a few years between chapters one and two. Almost five, to be exact.**_

 **.9:** _ **Well I won't do that partly because I don't know how I want to write Ash-Greninja as working yet, whether it's aura or synchronizing or what, but also because I feel like that cheapens it. I don't like the idea of EVERY Pokemon having a mega, or Ash just fusing like that with all his Pokemon. It should be something special, you know?**_

 **sesang:** _ **Those ladies might appear later, most likely not in a harem but I'm definitely considering Ash/Sabrina for the moment.**_

 **Cypress Oury:** _ **Here you go, friend!**_

 **Car7oony:** _ **There may be other pairings along the way, as mentioned above, but Rayshipping will almost definitely be endgame! I hope you can stick around regardless!**_

* * *

 **That's it for today guys, leave your comments/questions/critiques in the reviews! I'll see you guys soon!**


	4. Aspirations Dashed in Aspertia

A Hero's Rebirth

Chapter Four: Aspirations Dashed in Aspertia

* * *

They had flown hours until they saw their destination appear in the distance. There weren't many landmarks in the Unova region, Ash soon realized. From this far away there was nothing to take immediate notice of which made it slightly difficult for Ash to remember where he was supposed to go. Luckily he vaguely remembered Professor Juniper's Lab being on the side of the region they were coming up on.

Unova was to the noth of their little island home, quite a ways noth. Fortunately for the group, Charizard had more than enough experience to get them there by the midnight. And so it was, when Charizard landed as quietly as he could on the outskirts of the city, on a cliff overlooking a vast area. Even in the dark Ash could make out the shapes of mountains in the distance, hardly any lights appeared on the horizon. He smiled as he hopped off his fire-type's back and landed beside him, Pikachu leaping off next and onto Ash's head.

"Here we are, guys. The start of our brand new journey." Ash said, glancing between his two friends. Pikachu squeaked and Charizard grunted their agreements respectively. "This time, we'll go a lot further and show Unova what we're really made of. Won't we, guys?"

" _We sure will!"_ Pikachu cheered happily.

" _Damn straight."_ Charizard growled out, standing up and flexing its wings. He was more than ready.

"Alright, Charizard return for now. Thanks for the lift, buddy." Ash said, recalling his long-time friend as he received a nod of acknowledgement in return. After securing Charizard's ball to his belt, Ash turned to Pikachu. "Better head into town, huh? Accumula town is close to Juniper's Lab, right?" Ash asked, beginning to walk in the direction of the town.

" _I thought so. And it has a Pokemon Center."_ Pikachu replied, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. Ash smiled.

"Tired, buddy?" He asked amused. Pikachu let out a 'Chaa' of agreement. "Me too. I can't wait to fall into bed."

Together the tired duo trudged down from the cliff and into the town, spying the building with the red roof almost instantly. Making his way towards it, he noted that Accumula town looked different than he remembered. Shrugging it off as being tired, he entered the center and noted that it was pretty dead inside. Well, that was to be expected at this hour.

"Hey Nurse Joy." Ash greeted tiredly. He saw the Joy stand up off her stool to turn to greet him with a smile.

"Hello! What can I help you with tonight?" Joy asked happily. Ash smiled at her kindness, despite the late hour.

"Can I get a room for the night?" Ash asked next. Joy nodded before she went to take a key from the desk drawer.

"May I ask why so late, young man?" Joy questioned him. She wasn't used to people coming in this late, even if it was only for a room. "You and your Pikachu look exhausted." She noted.

"We've both had a pretty long day." Ash admitted. "And we got here later than we expected to." He said, mustering up a chuckle as he accepted his key from the nurse.

"Believe me, I get it." Joy said, sighing. "Have a nice night, I hope you enjoy your stay here."

Ash nodded his thanks, sending the nurse a smile before he progressed down the hallway to find the room marked with the number on the key. As soon as he pushed the door to his temporary room, he was overcome with even more exhaustion. It had been a long day indeed, he reasoned to himself.

It wasn't every day Team Rocket visited after training and decided to help reintroduce him to the civilized world. Besides, it was mentally draining to contemplate returning and planning things out again. Not to mention he had been up since dawn and today was Infernape's day to train one-on-one with his trainer. That always left them both tired out.

As expected, Ash dropped face-first onto the bed, not bothering to move the sheets or take off his sneakers. Pikachu too cared very little and simply adjusted himself onto Ash's back, curling up contently. The duo was asleep in seconds.

* * *

Surprisingly enough, it was Ash that woke up first the following morning. He steadily pushed himself up, removing his face from his pillow as gently as he could so he wouldn't disturb the partner on his back. Looking around, he noted that it was only about nine thirty in the morning, which wasn't a bad time to start at all.

"Pi, wake up buddy. Time to start our new adventure." Ash said gently, twisting his head to look at his starter. He watched as the rodents' ears twitched and his eyes flickered open.

Much like a cat, Pikachu opened his eyes and stretched his body out, letting a high-pitched 'Chaa' out once more. After, he quickly sprung from Ash's back to the floor to allow his best friend to sit up in bed as they both looked at each other. Without exchanging any words they both knew what they needed to do, and Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulders again, nuzzling his cheek as a good morning.

Ash smiled as he bent over to pick up his backpack that he had carelessly flung onto the floor last night before he face-planted into his pillow and slung it over his shoulders as Pikachu held onto his head, moving back when the pack was in place.

"You ready for this? We'll have a quick breakfast, a team meeting and then we'll head to Striaton City and battle the gym." Ash said, exiting his room.

" _Sounds good to me, I'm really hungry."_ Pikachu admitted. Their stomachs growled in unison, causing the two to look at each other and laughed, drawing the attention of Nurse Joy.

"The two of you are quite close, aren't you?" Joy asked with a chuckle. "What can I help you with this morning?"

"Oh nothing much, Nurse Joy. We're just gonna have a quick breakfast and head up to Striaton City." Ash told her, stopping to look at her behind the desk before the turn to the cafeteria. He didn't miss her questioning look.

"Why would you stop here before Striaton? You have quite a way to go still." Joy said. "You didn't know? Striaton City is on the other side of the region." She added at Ash's confused look. Ash and Pikachu's eyes bugged out.

"What city am I in right now then?" Ash asked hesitantly.

"Here we are, in Aspertia City." Joy replied, pointing to the place on the map of the region on the wall.

Ash walked over to see that where he apparently was, Aspertia City, was on the complete other side of the region than he intended to be on, almost perfectly opposite Accumula Town on the map. He grumbled to himself. All that time away to grow up and improve and he was still completely shit at directions.

" _Wait to go Ash, you flip-flopped the Unova region in your head. We'd have to have gone north-west to land in Accumula Town without flying over the whole region first."_ Pikachu remarked. Ash jarred his shoulder in annoyance, causing his partner to smirk.

"Can I ask what you wanted to go all the way to Accumula Town for anyway? It sounds like you've come from far away, and you're definitely not a starting trainer." Joy broke the duo from their antics. They exchanged glances before Ash cleared his throat.

"I was going to challenge the gyms in the Unova region, as part of an, er, training exercise." Ash told her. He had always been one for unorthodox training and battle strategies and this was no different. Besides it seemed kind of silly to say it out loud to a total stranger.

Luckily though, she seemed to take it in stride.

"Well you got a bit lucky after all. There's a gym right here in Aspertia City, and one just up the road in-" Joy started, before Ash's memory flashed back to him.

He had been here before, hadn't he? After the Unova League had ended on his way back home to Kanto. Only, the gym had just been newly built back then. And just up the road was… Virbank City, if Ash remembered correctly, where he once earned his eighth gym bade. This time around though, it would be his second.

"Virbank City, yeah! I remember now, thanks a lot Nurse Joy! I don't know what I'd have done without you." Ash interrupted happily, earning a pleased look from the nurse and an eye roll from his yellow companion.

"You'd have figured it out eventually, I'm sure. I'll let you carry on with your day now, but good luck if you plan to challenge Cheren." Joy said, offering one final smile before turning away from the boy.

"I wouldn't bet on it." Ash muttered to himself, before thanking the nurse one final time and sprinting into the cafeteria. "Slight change in plans, bud, but just as well we start our challenge today! We'll eat a quick breakfast, meet with the others and then battle the Aspertia City gym!" Ash proclaimed to his starter, who squeaked his agreement.

* * *

In no time the hungry duo had downed two helpings of breakfast each and raced to the cliff they landed on last night, a safe and empty place for Ash to release his large group of Pokemon and secluded enough to hide them for a short period of time. They didn't need long, after all.

"Guys, take a look around, okay? This is our first stop in the Unova region and our first stop on our road to victory! After this we don't stop until we're done okay, so don't be upset if you don't fight right away. All of you guys will be with us every step of the way!" Ash proclaimed, and his crowd cheered.

He hadn't decided on which Pokemon he was using yet. He remembered battling Cheren once before and the use of a Herdier like Lenora made him remember it was a normal-type gym. Normal types always posted a problem, just because they could learn such a wide variety of moves. There was no correct decision until he saw which Pokemon his opponent was using.

So, in a typical Ash Ketchum fashion, he returned his Pokemon and hurried to the gym as excited as ever. After letting himself inside, he noticed children littering the place and one man with black hair standing before them dressed in a white button-up shirt and red tie with blue jeans.

'Cheren', Ash started in his head. 'Get ready because I'm walking away a winner this time.'

"Can I, uh, help you?" Cheren asked, confused. He didn't usually have challengers this early in the morning. Especially not ones that looked so… experienced?

He didn't often get experienced trainers; a lot of them were just starting out in fact. Not to mention hardly any with Pokemon from outside of Unova. Although there was that one time when….

"I'd like a gym battle please. Against your personal team." Ash requested, really shocking the other man. This was definitely not an every day challenger.

"My personal team? Well, if you're sure. That's an unusual request, though. Can I ask what for?" Cheren asked, moving to pick up certain Pokeballs off his desk. Those Pokeballs contained the Pokemon that he didn't often get to use in standard gym matches.

"Call it a training exercise." Ash replied happily, turning to face the battlefield to the side. He followed Cheren onto it, taking the side opposite the older man.

"This is certainly the strangest start to a day I've had since I became gym leader." Cheren said to himself, looking over the boy across from him.

He couldn't help but feel the challenger was familiar from somewhere, something about the way he spoke and carried himself rung bells he couldn't remember putting there anymore. He stood composed under his light blue cloak, but his brown eyes shined with excitement and passion, him and his Pikachu mirroring each other perfectly.

Oh well, Cheren decided, best not to dwell on it. He was relieved when his referee made his way to the battle box set up for him to officiate the match after corralling his students into the stands to watch. They would definitely benefit from observing this battle.

"This is an official gym battle between Gym Leader Cheren and the challenger-" The ref broke off, turning to the challenger to fill in the blank for him.

"Raidyn. Raidyn Stark." Ash said with a smirk.

He and Pikachu came up with that name a while back, mostly to get around a lot easier. Getting a Pokedex in the name was a bit trickier, but they managed to convince Professor Krane in Orre that their old gear had been destroyed. Krane, knowing the vast deserts of Orre to be unforgiving, had bought it and caved. It was easy enough for Ash pass off that he was from Orre now, especially with the Pokedex.

"The challenger Raidyn Stark! This will be a 3-on-3 match and the battle will be over when all of one trainers' Pokemon are unable to continue! In addition, only the challenger can substitute Pokemon! Do both trainers understand the rules?" He recited. He waited for the two nods before continuing. "Let the battle begin!"

"Bouffalant, let's go!" Cheren chose first, tossing a Pokeball.

In front of Cheren appeared his chosen Pokemon, a large bull-like battler with brown fur, large hooves and an Afro on top of its head. The Afro had two horns protruding from either side, both extending a few feet out with two gold rings wrapped around them. Intimidating, indeed.

Ash knew it almost wasn't even fair. He knew this match up could not lose, but he couldn't resist starting his second journey out just like his first and on a better note.

"Pikachu, I choose you." Ash said. He saw Pikachu's smirk as he jumped off his shoulder and onto the battlefield, cheeks sparking. 'Oh well.' Ash decided. He'd switch after the first round.

"You're the challenger, Raidyn. You have first move." Cheren offered. Ash nodded.

" **Quick Attack** , go!" Ash started. Pikachu obeyed, being surrounded in a white light before darting off towards his opponent at blinding speeds.

"Bouffalant, counter with a **Horn Attack**!" Cheren ordered.

Bouffalant charged right after, each of its horns glowing a bright white as it attempted to skewer Pikachu with them. Fortunately, Ash reacted fast.

"Switch to **Iron Tail**!" He said next.

Pikachu's attack switched immediately, the glow around his body dissipating in favor of his tail shining a bright white that he used to slam down onto one of Bouffalant's glowing horns. The two pushed against each other, being much more even than a bull and a mouse had any right to be.

"Your Pikachu is strong. Stronger than I would have expected." Cheren complimented. "But not strong enough. Switch to **Fury Attack**!"

Bouffalant's horns ceased to glow and for a minute it seemed Pikachu overpowered the beast, but then Bouffalant tilted its head to ram the electric mouse with it's other horn, this process repeating over and over. Ash was ready though.

"Block with an **Electro Ball**!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu charged a ball of electricity in its tail as quickly as it could, the ball becoming fully charged in seconds, and moved to slam it in the direction the next horn was coming from. He was thrown from the smoke of the resulting explosion, flipping to stand on all fours to smirk at his also battered opponent.

" **Quick Attack** , again!" Ash continued. Once more, Pikachu took off towards Bouffalant.

" **Horn Attack** , do it again!" Cheren said, hoping for the same results. Ash smirked.

"Not twice, slide underneath Bouffalant!" Ash countered, ready for Cheren's attack.

Pikachu used the speed he channeled from the **Quick Attack** to slide underneath Bouffalant's large body, sailing straight under it's **Horn Attack** and coming out facing the bull's behind. He knew what Ash wanted.

" **ThunderBolt**!" Ash cried. Pikachu was already charging the attack up before the order left Ash's mouth and flying by the time he finished, heading straight at the turned around normal-type. The electric attack struck dead on, the bull moving backwards a great distance under the power of the attack.

"Not bad. Bouffalant, **Megahorn!"** The leader commanded next.

Bouffalant obeyed, trying to shake off the damage from the **ThunderBolt** attack the best it could, and charged Pikachu again with both horns glowing with green energy. Pikachu took the liberty to dodge on his own accord, jumping in a zigzag pattern only for his opponent to follow, vigorously trying to impale him. Luckily Ash had a plan.

"Use **Dig,** quick!" Ash said urgently.

Pikachu broke off his cat-and-mouse game with the bull to jump to the side and dive straight down into the ground, easily tunneling through the soft dirt. He had a good idea where Ash was going with this plan, as always, and was more than content to sit and wait for it. Above him he felt Bouffalant's many attempts at breaking the ground with **Megahorn,** none successful enough to get close to him.

"Come out and use **Iron Tail**!" Ash ordered. "Then retreat again!"

Pikachu broke from the ground, his tail shining a bright white again, as he slammed it down onto Bouffalant's Afro. Bouncing away quickly, he sprung into the air and tunneled underground again, waiting for Ash's next command. Only Cheren had other ideas.

"Don't let it happen again, Bouffalant! **Head Charge** on the ground!" The leader ordered.

Bouffalant's Afro glowed, an orange glow emitting from it, as it rammed its head down into the ground with unbelievable force. The ground underneath gave way and chunks of earth were flung upwards, creating a large crater that left the electric mouse exposed and nearly airborne itself.

" **Iron Tail** , the rocks!" Ash cried, switching strategies.

Pikachu knew what he wanted and powered up his steel-coated tail again, this time slamming it into all the large chunks of airborne debris and sending them flying at rapid speeds towards the leaders Pokemon, causing Bouffalant to recoil backwards quite a bit.

"Don't take that, Bouffalant, plow through with another **Head Charge**!" Cheren countered.

Bouffalant's Afro glowed an orange glow once more as it wildly charged Pikachu, still in mid-air batting rocks that were now shattering upon impact rather than causing damage thanks to the powerful charging attack. Pikachu landed with just enough time for Ash to counter.

"Kick it up a notch, Pikachu! Dodge with **Quick Attack**!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu, true to Ash's phrasing, kicked it up a notch. This **Quick Attack** seemed to move twice as fast as the previous two, causing the little yellow mouse to practically vanish in its place and letting Bouffalant pass right where he would've been.

"Impressive, Raidyn. It seems you and your Pikachu were holding back on us." Cheren observed. Ash and Pikachu smiled nervously in sync. "This should show you, Bouffalant, **Giga Impact**!"

Bouffalant bellowed out its name as a flash of yellow light appeared in front of its face. Bouffalant shot itself at Pikachu, becoming surrounded in purple energy with spiraling yellow streaks around it at a great speed. The torpedo of energy lifted off the ground in its rapid acceleration towards Ash's rodent, who patiently waited for his orders.

"Head towards it with **Quick Attack**!" Ash challenged. Pikachu, with complete faith in his trainer, rushed the purple torpedo as he glowed with a white light, moving at blinding speeds. Luckily, Ash could keep up with him.

"Now spin to the side!" He ordered quickly.

Pikachu's attack was cancelled on the dime; the light going away and his little body jerked itself over to the side. Using the force of Bouffalant's attack to aid in his technique, Pikachu spun around and around until the **Giga Impact** met the ground once more, leaving Pikachu unharmed in midair as Bouffalant crashed into the ground, unable to move. Cheren gasped while Ash smirked.

"Finish it with a **Volt Tackle**!" Ash said excitedly.

Pikachu smirked too, his body becoming cloaked in a brilliant yellow-gold aura, appearing black and white while inside as he charged downwards, using gravity to power up the already insanely powerful attack. Bouffalant couldn't move out of the way in time, thanks to **Giga Impact** 's recharge period, and Pikachu's **Volt Tackle** crashed straight onto Bouffalant's back from above.

The result was a small explosion, and when the smoke cleared Bouffalant was lying on the ground, unconscious as Pikachu stood on all fours victoriously, cheeks sparking in case his opponent stood.

"Bouffalant is unable to battle, Pikachu is the winner!" The ref called. "Gym Leader, select your next Pokemon!"

"Pikachu, you can come back now." Ash said. Pikachu squeaked as he bounded over to Ash's side, nuzzling his leg in happiness. Ash bent down to scratch his head. "Yeah, you were great as always, bud."

"That was a great first battle, Raidyn. The two of you make an excellent team, but you'll need more than that to beat me. Lickilicky, let's go!" Cheren cried.

On Cheren's side of the field, a large pink gelatinous blob of a Pokemon appeared. On it's stomach was the only hint of something other than pink, with three yellow lines and a white tuff taking up the space there. Out of its moth came an overextended tongue, thought to be longer than the Pokemon itself.

"Kay, then Scrafty, I choose you!" Ash decided, choosing his own Pokemon.

Out came Ash's fighting type. It had orange skin and a black stomach, with yellow 'pants' and a scruff around it's next to go with an intimidating red Mohawk-like fray on the top of its head. Cheren narrowed his eyes, realizing his opponent had an advantage over him now.

"We started last time." Ash said simply. Cheren picked up what Ash was implying and nodded; taking the chance he was offered.

"Lickilicky, **Slam** attack!" Cheren began.

Lickilicky extended its tongue to an outrageous length, trying to wrap the appendage around Ash's dual-type Pokemon.

"Knock it away with a **Rock Smash**!" Ash countered. Scrafty reacted quickly, his orange hand glowing a deeper orange as he struck Lickilicky's tongue with it, repeatedly batting it away. "Switch to **Thunder Punch**!" He ordered suddenly.

Scrafty's arm no longer glowed orange but came alive with crackling electricity and connected his fist with Lickilicky's tongue once more, with Cheren being much more careful this time.

"Retreat and use **Rollout!"** Cheren ordered instead.

Lickilicky's tongue retracted itself from Scrafty, only for the pink Pokemon to curl up in a ball and accelerate towards the Hoodlum Pokemon, who barely managed to move out of the way. Upon hearing Cheren call for another **Rollout,** Ash shouted another order.

"Hit 'em with a **Focus Blast** , Scrafty!" Ash ordered.

Scrafty nodded, beginning to form a bright yellow orb of energy between his hands as Lickilicky turned around, still in ball form, to accelerate towards him again.

"You've got to get out of the way!" Cheren cried. "Swerve left!"

Just as Scrafty released the powerful fighting type attack, Lickilicky's path changed and it smoothly avoided the sphere of power, causing it to explode on the floor behind it harmlessly as the Licking Pokemon continued on to ram into Scrafty, sending it reeling backwards as Lickilicky pulled back and began to circle around again.

Ash grit his teeth. He knew it he could land a **Focus Blast** this battle would be much shorter, but he knew Cheren was too good to just _let_ one hit. He needed to get more creative with this. As he watched Lickilicky turn around, he saw him roll through the crater that the missed **Focus Blast** created, bouncing up upon exit.

'That could work,' Ash thought to himself. 'But Scrafty doesn't know **Dig.'** His eyes scanned the battlefield, looking for anything he could use. They stopped, resting on the large hole Bouffalant had created earlier, trying to get at Pikachu. 'On second though, maybe he doesn't have to.'

"Well Raidyn, what now? **Rollout,** once more!" Cheren taunted. Lickilicky took off rolling again after coming to a stop in front of Cheren, intent on running down the Unova native Pokemon once more.

"You'll see. Scrafty, get to that crater!" Ash commanded. Scrafty took off running immediately, taking advantage of the confusion shared between Cheren and Lickilicky to get there un-flattened.

"You can't hide from us, go right Lickilicky!" Cheren directed. Lickilicky's course changed, heading straight for the hole that Scrafty was sitting on the bottom of. Cheren smirked and Ash narrowed his eyes.

"Just a little closer…" He muttered to himself, watching Lickilicky closely. Then, just as he got to the lip of the crater and before it had a chance to roll downhill, Ash cried out another order. " **High Jump Kick**!"

Scrafty's yellow knee shone with an orange light as he launched upwards to meet Lickilicky's **Rollout** with his hard-hitting kneecap. The two attacks met and, after a brief power struggle, thanks to Scrafty's type advantage, **High Jump Kick** knocked Lickilicky out of its **Rollout** and upwards, into the air. Ash saw his chance.

"Now quick, hit 'em with a **Focus Blast**!" He instructed.

Cheren gasped in astonishment once more as Scrafty powered up another orb of yellow light, this one striking the defenseless Lickilicky in mid-air, sending his Pokemon flying backwards. Before Cheren could even call out another attack, his challenger beat him to it.

"Don't let up, Scrafty! **Feint Attack**!" Ash commanded next.

Scrafty disappeared from sight right after, going from the bottom of the crater to the area right behind the falling Lickilicky in seconds. The dual-type Pokemon didn't hesitate to bring down a devastating kick to the normal-types back, sending it crashing to the ground even faster while he calmly landed back on two feet, hiking up his 'pants' in satisfaction.

" **Power Whip**!" Cheren ordered suddenly.

Through the dust kicked up by the collision Lickilicky had with the floor, its tongue extended once again this time coated in a green energy and struck the surprised Scrafty with surprising force, sending it crashing back into a wall. Ash growled while Cheren smirked.

"You didn't think taking out Lickilicky would be as simple as that, did you?" Cheren taunted. " **Power Whip** , once more!"

"Double **Rock Smashes** , hold it off as long as you can!" Ash retaliated.

Scrafty did as it was told, letting both arms glow orange as he repeatedly batted away the offending tongue that was again coated in green energy. Finally though, the tongue retreated and Scrafty was given room to breath again.

" **Dark Pulse** , go!" Ash continued to command. Scrafty nodded, quickly charging the orb of dark energy between his hands. Cheren was prepared.

"Knock it away with **Slam!"** He countered.

Using its powerful tongue once more, Lickilicky knocked the orb of dark energy off course, sending it flying left into a wall. Ash narrowed his eyes, curious.

 **"Dark Pulse,** once more!" The Pallet native cried.

This time he watched closely as Lickilicky batted the attack to the left, twisting its head with vigor and slightly wavering in holding its stance under the power of Scrafty's attacks. That combination attack earlier hadn't been for nothing, Ash knew. If they could get Lickilicky off balance just one more time…

 **"Dark Pulse,** one last time!" Ash proclaimed with new confidence.

Cheren rolled his eyes as he saw the same thing happen once more, Lickilicky batting the dark-type attack to the left once more. Just like the previous two times his challenger tried that tactic.

" **Feint Attack** , to the right!" Came Ash's next command. Cheren's eyes widened so fast it was almost comical.

Scrafty disappeared and appeared once more, this time reappearing to Lickilicky's right while its head was turned left and was slightly off balance, both as a result of **Dark Pulse**. Scrafty took the opportunity to once again kick Lickilicky in the back with his powerful legs, pushing the Licking Pokemon back enough to worry Cheren.

" **Power Whip** , again!" Cheren cried in a panic.

"Oh no you don't, **High Jump Kick** , let's go!" Ash yelled out right after.

Scrafty was quicker on the draw and rammed Lickilicky with his glowing kneecap before the familiar green glow even started to appear around its extra appendage, successfully hitting the center of the pink Pokemon's chest. The result was a fallen, unconscious Lickilicky and a standing tall-and-proud Scrafty. The ref seemed to look out for a few seconds before nodding to himself, confirming the results.

"Lickilicky is unable to battle, Scrafty is the winner!" He announced. "Gym Leader, please select your final Pokemon!"

"That was a nice tactic, there. But that won't be enough to win you the match. Let's go, Stoutland! I'm counting on you!" Cheren cried, choosing his final Pokemon for the battle.

He released a canine-like Pokemon, with a body covered in dark blue shaggy fur and brown face and paws. There were cream-colored plumes of fur that extended off its face down to its feat that ran the length of its body, an intimidating looking Pokemon if Ash ever saw one.

Ash looked out, assessing Stoutland and Scrafty. Upon closer inspection, he was sure he could win with Scrafty; the guy was a natural born battler and wouldn't go down easy. If he played this match right, he was confident Scrafty could pull off the win. He made eye contact with Scrafty from his position on the field and he could tell how much the gecko-like Pokemon wanted this. So, nodding resolutely, Ash decided to keep going with Scrafty.

Cheren seemed surprised at first, but Ash assumed the leader chalked it up to overconfidence.

'Not this time,' Ash thought silently. He knew Scrafty could do this. "I'm sticking with Scrafty, Cheren."

"I see." Cheren said, nodding. "Why don't you take first move again?" He offered.

Ash nodded. **Focus Blast** was too risky right now, when Stoutland could easily move out of the way, and **High Jump Kick** was arguably worse because if that failed, Scrafty would get hurt. Besides, Ash had battled against Stoutland as a species before and bringing the battle into close quarters would be a bad idea right now.

" **Dark Pulse** , go!" Ash ordered. Scrafty nodded, powering up the dark sphere between his hands once more before launching it at his canine-like opponent.

"Break through it, Stoutland! **Retaliate!"** Cheren countered.

Stoutland charged without hesitation, breaking through the dark-type attack with little more than a wince as he continued on to Scrafty. Ash's eyes widened. **Retaliates** power would be doubled if it hit now; Cheren had just lost his Lickilicky. It also explained how easily it broke through Scrafty's **Dark Pulse**.

"You've got to meet it head on, **Giga Impact**!" Ash cried out, worried.

An orb of yellow light quickly formed in front of Scrafty as it took off running, quickly tuning into a spiral of purple energy highlighted with yellow streaks. The purple torpedo intercepted the charging normal-type head on.

The two pushed for dominance but they both quickly realized it was a losing battle, both breaking off their attacks and skidding backward. Ash internally sighed. **Retaliate** , while still a powerful move, was no longer his biggest problem. Although, he couldn't relax yet since Scrafty couldn't move just yet.

"Clever, you used Scrafty's speed to intercept **Retaliate** before it reached its peak momentum and had a better chance of cutting the attack off." Cheren realized, smirking. "But you've left Scrafty open for anything. **Take Down** , now!"

Stoutland once again took off running towards its orange-skinned opponent, who could do nothing in return. The power behind the charge knocked Scrafty into the air, but he didn't get far before Cheren cried out more orders.

"Good, now hit it with a **Fire Fang**!" He yelled.

Scrafty was caught in mid air between Stoutland's flaming jaws, crying out in pain as the fire consumed him. Stoutland didn't let up and proceeded to shake his head around, jostling Scrafty even more. Ash grit his teeth as he countered.

 **"Counter**! **"** Ash ordered hastily.

Scrafty's body seemed to become outlined in an orange light before Stoutland winced in pain and was thrown back, releasing Scrafty just as the glow dissipated. Scrafty looked up, falling down to one knee briefly before standing tall and yanking his pants up higher while Stoutland continued to shake off the damage done by **Counter.**

"Now attack with **Rock Smash**! Hit it as many times as you can!" Ash continued his assault.

Scrafty nodded, charging at the recovering Stoutland with both arms consumed in an orange glow. Upon reaching the Big Heart Pokemon, he jumped and repeatedly drove his glowing fists into Stoutland's head and chest, continuously pushing the larger opponent backwards. Cheren's eyes narrowed.

"Break through and use **Take Down**!" The Unova native ordered. Stoutland's form steeled and threw its weight forwards, sending Scrafty sailing through the air. Although this time the Hoodlum Pokemon struck the landing.

Still, he didn't have much time as Stoutland charged again, rapidly closing the distance between the two once more. Ash knew if he didn't do something, this would be a repeat of the last string of attacks.

" **Feint Attack** to doge!" Ash commanded.

Like before, Scrafty disappeared from view and it was not a second too soon. Stoutland's charge ended in the exact spot Scrafty was a second before. Now, however, Scrafty was off to Stoutland's side. Before it could deliver the usual follow-up kick, his trainer called for another attack.

" **Head Smash** , with everything you've got!" Ash cried out, desperately.

Scrafty didn't hesitate, his body becoming cloaked in a whitish-red aura before charging at Stoutland and crashing straight into its side, the force of the attack carrying both of them into the wall. The result was another dust cloud being kicked up and both Ash and Cheren struggled to see what had happened, although Ash had a pretty good idea.

When the dust cleared, the results were obvious. Scrafty and Stoutland were both unconscious on the floor, Scrafty using Stoutland's body as a makeshift pillow. Ash smiled and Cheren gaped as the referee called out once more.

"Both Stoutland and Scrafty are unable to battle! Seeing as all the gym leaders Pokemon have been eliminated and the challenger has two remaining, the winner of this match is Raidyn Stark!" He bellowed.

Right after, Ash recalled Scrafty to his Pokeball, whispering words of praise to it as he tucked it on his belt. For now he turned his attention back to Cheren, whom was making his way towards him.

"That was certainly an interesting battle, Raidyn. I don't think I've ever had a challenger quite like you before." Cheren praised, before presenting Ash with a badge. "This is the Basic Badge. You've earned it."

"Keep it, I'm not collecting badges." Ash waved off, surprising Cheren. "This is simply a journey to get stronger and prepare myself for the Champion's League."

Cheren's eyes widened at the revelation that this man would be participating in the Champion's League in six months time. Although, he reminded himself, he supposed he shouldn't. The man was obviously skilled and experienced, and what other reason would constitute taking on gyms be considered as training exercise.

"Do me a favor then and take it anyway, to remember our battle. Because when the Champion's League comes around I'm going to be a whole lot stronger." Cheren offered. Ash replied in kind, extending his hand and accepting the badge.

"Thanks a lot, Cheren. We really had fun. We'll be sure to see you at the league, kay?" Ash promised.

Cheren nodded as he watched Raidyn retreat, a badge in his hand and a Pikachu on his shoulder.

'What an interesting guy,' Cheren thought to himself as Raidyn left. 'He sure seemed familiar.'

* * *

"This is it, Pikachu. Our first victory on our new journey." Ash said, holding up the badge.

" _Sure is! That was a lot of fun, much better than I remembered. I can't believe I forgot how exciting a real battle, against new opponents, can be!"_ Pikachu cheered. Ash smiled at him, scratching his cheek.

"I know pal, I couldn't help myself either." He said, chuckling. "I guess we do have to practice more with this alternate identity thing, though, huh? Cheren seemed to remember us well enough to be confused."

He didn't miss the way the gym leader spaced out a bit before and after the battle, eyes concentrating on his face beside Pikachu's. If someone he met as briefly as Cheren could be suspicious, what would happen when it came time to battle someone he knew well? Someone who he had spent ages with, like Brock or Misty?

" _Yeah, I noticed too."_ Pikachu mumbled. _"I don't think I was helping."_

"What do you mean buddy?" Ash asked, coming to a halt. Pikachu shrugged, hopping off his shoulder and onto a nearby bench. He sensed Ash wanted to talk.

" _It doesn't exactly help the 'new person' thing with me on your shoulder all the time, does it? It brings back their memories too easily."_ Pikachu explained, taking a deep, worried breath. He knew what he had to do.

"That's okay, pal, who cares anyway? I'd rather them remember me than have you cooped up in a 'Ball all the time." Ash defended. Pikachu shook his head.

" _That's not what I mean, Ash."_ Pikachu said, looking right up at him now. _"I think I want to evolve."_

* * *

 **Dun, dun, dun! Cliffhangers, anyone? They're a writer's best friend and an audience's worst enemy.**

 **Okay before I go onto the reviews I want to clear a few things up.**

 **If you felt Ash won too easily, I'm sorry, but that was mostly to show how strong Ash had become right off the bat. Against one of the lower-ranked gyms in Unova, which is, in my opinion, the region with the weakest gym leaders of any other region. I think it's more than understandable. Even so, not all battles will have such one-sided results and many will be a lot closer.**

 **Also, if you guys think that Pikachu seemed OP, well, yeah. He is. He is very overpowered, being one of Ash's Pokemon that has the power to stand on equal footing with legendary Pokemon, which we all know, in the anime, are OP as shit. He won't have 20+ Pokemon this strong or anything, maybe 6-8 at most. And no, he will not use most of these until later because remember, this isn't a speed run to see how fast Ash can plow through gyms or anything. This is a training exercise used by Ash to make sure his Pokemon, all of them, are ready to fight in the Champion's League. It's so he can battle with and test his Pokemon's skills and limitations against other Pokemon that aren't under his command, something that's been rare to have since he disappeared years ago.**

 **On another note, YES the Pokemon used more than four moves! For the game, the four-move limitation makes sense. For the anime, it's just silly. While I am ignoring the four-move limit, most Pokemon won't be throwing around every attack in their move-pools and will probably be using about ten or so, if that. While we're talking about moves, Head Smash glowed 'whitish-red' because the only time it was used in the anime was by Rampardos, where it was shown to glow blue similar to Volt Tackle. I assume the color changed by the Pokemon, so that's why I described it that way.  
**

 **So I want to ask something else; how do you guys feel about the bolding of the attack names? I just wanted to see how it looked and try something new but I figure it's you who's reading. Do you guys like it or not? I'm indifferent, and I just won't do it anymore if you think it looks odd.**

 **Finally, we talk about Ash's Pokemon. If you have a suggestion for Pokemon you think Ash should have caught, let me know please! I have maybe 20 in mind at the moment (not counting Haunter or Larvitar, because he already has those back), and I'm trying to decide if I should narrow it down or not.**

 **With that said, onto your reviews!**

* * *

 **Zach Flare SOLDIER Class S:** _ **Here you go.**_

 **Vital Info:** _ **I agree completely, 256 contestants is the better choice. As for the 'win a tournament, whoop dee doo' thing, I can promise you that winning this does not mean you're a master. Highly respected and well known, yes, but not a master.**_

 _ **Ash is NOT an Aura Guardian. I mentioned before that he's practically just a little wet behind the ears at using aura, knowing the basics and enough to communicate with his own Pokemon. The hat is just there so that it's known he's 'aura sensitive' (basically the same thing as force-sensitive, but with aura). Besides, could any of us picture Ash without a hat?**_

 _ **Ash and Team Rocket's friendship will be expanded upon later, whether it's in the form of a flashback or general expositional dialogue, I haven't decided yet but it will definitely not be a forgotten aspect.**_

 _ **Paul's adventures will be talked about, definitely, both his training and more on his escapade with Ash.**_

 _ **As for being overly reliant on Charizard, he will be for now (as well as Pidgeot) until I decide for sure which new Pokemon he'll have obtained.**_

 **Beast94:** _ **Sorry, but it looks like that's the way it's going. I hope you'll trust me and stick around regardless!**_

 **DarkPirateKing69:** _ **Don't worry; Ash will not be frequently battling with Mewtwo. As for your other review…**_

 _ **Flashbacks will happen to cover anything that wouldn't come up otherwise or I don't want to just TELL you guys. Although a spin-off story is an entertaining idea, It's probably better that I focus on one story at a time.**_

 _ **Once again, don't worry; I only have a rough idea for new Pokemon. I want to know what you guys think before setting it in stone is all, because basically I want to know a rough estimate for how much you feel is a good amount of new additions to have. I don't want him to not catch anything, but also not catch everything in the national Pokedex, you know?**_

 **Stars90:** _ **Aw, thanks a lot! I hope you enjoyed the first gym battle!**_

 **TheIceRaven:** _ **Thank you too, I tried to go a different way and I'm surprised at so many positive reactions! As for giving the Trio reasons, you bet, you just need to wait a little while and see.**_

 **SilentSniper05:** _ **Sorry you disagree about the alias, but I hope you'll stick around anyways. I have an idea as to how to blend the two together, but I assure you that whatever the name he is stills very much Ash Ketchum underneath.**_

* * *

 **That's all the reviews for now; leave your questions, comments and concerns in the reviews or PM me if you'd rather discuss something. See you all soon for the next update!**


	5. What An Eventful Day We're Having

A Hero's Rebirth

Chapter Five: What An Eventful Day We're Having

* * *

Ash stared at his partner, thrown for a loop.

"You don't have to do that, you know that." Ash said sincerely. "I'd rather someone remember us than make you do something you're not comfortable with."

" _That's the thing, Ash."_ Pikachu started, shaking his head. _"I've been thinking about it for a while now, anyway."_ At Ash's surprised look, he continued. _"Everyday, I watch everyone else growing, getting stronger, getting better. I can't keep up this way anymore. We all know who your strongest Pokemon are, and I keep getting bumped down, again and again."_

"If you felt that way why didn't you say something sooner?" Ash asked, confused.

" _I didn't want to disappoint you. We worked so hard together to push my limits and become as strong as I could without evolving, to become the strongest Pikachu in the world. I didn't want it to be for nothing."_ Pikachu said sadly.

"It wouldn't be for nothing, Pi. If you evolved, then you'd just become the strongest Raichu in the world. I'd be happy either way, buddy, as long as you're happy. Just like when Bulbasaur and Squirtle evolved because they wanted to keep up." Ash said strongly.

" _I guess I didn't think about it that way. Thanks, Ash."_ Pikachu said, nudging Ash's hand with his head to indicate he wanted to be scratched some. Ash chuckled and happily obliged his little yellow friend.

"So, what do you say? Do you still want to evolve?" Ash asked after some time. Pikachu paused, turning around in Ash's lap to face him once more.

" _Actually, yeah. Yeah, I think I do. I just know that after I'll be so much stronger, I'll take on Charizard or Sceptile no problem again. And nothing between us will change… right?"_ Pikachu said, hopping onto Ash's shoulder in the same motion his trainer went to stand.

"Nope, the same ol' thing, pal. You and me against the world." Ash proclaimed, slinging off his bag and digging around. From the furthest depths of his pack, he uncovered it. Wrapped gently in blue cloth, tucked away at the bottom of his bag, as a single Thunderstone.

It wasn't the one he received from Nurse Joy when they had first begun their journey. Team Rocket had stolen that years ago, way back in Sinnoh and he was sure they had sold it. Those three were always broke. No, instead this was the very one he had STOPPED from hitting Pikachu once before, during their trek across this very region. He held it up with one hand, scratching Pikachu's ear with the other as he spoke.

"It's here, whenever you want it. I kept this one too, since Jessie, James and Meowth made off with our other one. I figured it was better to have it than not, just in case, you know?" Ash told him.

" _Do you think we could, I don't know, wait until after lunch?"_ Pikachu asked hesitantly.

"Sure, whatever you want." Ash said as he chuckled. "Now, what do you want to eat? I'm starving!"

Ash and Pikachu let our simultaneous laughter as they made their way back to the Pokemon Center for lunch there, oblivious to the looks they received from townsfolk, shopkeepers, newspapermen and pedestrians alike.

One newspaperman looked on with amusement as he set his stack down on the bench, ready to take a break.

* * *

Gary exited the Pokemon Center in Viridian City, patting his stomach contently.

A big lunch was always nice, especially since grandpa had burnt breakfast that morning. Oak and Tracey got to go over and simply have breakfast with Delia, she was always more than happy to have company, but Gary couldn't.

There was no way he could spend extended periods of time around Delia anymore knowing that Ash was alive and knowing that she didn't. If he did, he was always sure the truth would slip, something he knew he couldn't afford to let happen. For all he knew, Ash could be on the run, still trying to get out of Team Flare's clutches.

No, the risk was just much too high. That never stopped him from feeling bad about keeping it a secret, but he knew it was for the best. Instead, Gary powered through the morning without food and excusing himself from Delia's saying that he was in the middle of a project and that breakfast could wait.

Neither of those things was true.

Right after Oak and Tracey shut the front door to the lab, Gary dashed out the back way and easily hopped the small wooden fence that barely did it's job of separating Oak's ranch from Viridian Forest. Making his way through the forest by now was child's play, easily knowing where the Beedrill nested and which trails only looped back around. He was in Viridian City in no time at all.

"Besides," Gary said out loud to nobody. "Gramps and Ms. Ketchum could go on for hours on end, waiting around in the lab would be stupid. There's a chance he won't be back until after dark."

Not only that, Gary remembered, but also he was sure those three had managed to run his errand by now. They hadn't been at work for almost a whole week and Gary was certain it was because they had left to seek out Ash. Being on their way back was a high possibility for the trio by now, Gary assumed.

He had walked into the shop several times after the hand-off of his little package and found the trio still there and, upon further questioning, found out he was correct in that the trio knew where he was almost all the time. What he did not expect was for them to know where he was living and hiding out majority of his time, which Meowth had let slip. He did, however, manage to omit the actual location, something that annoyed Gary to no end.

Still, as shocking a revelation it was that Ash's formed archenemies practically had invites to his house, Gary was happy his hunch was proved correct. Fate wouldn't let Ash and Team Rocket's paths go uncrossed for long, they had crossed too much for that now.

Gary whistled nonchalantly as he moseyed through town, eventually coming to stand before a park. With a simple shrug he sat down on one of the benches, watching with a smile as kids ran about, playing with Rattata and Pidgey as their parents watched from the other side of the park.

He wasn't there for three minutes when a Meowth-head shaped shadow drifted above his head and over the park, continuing down the street behind the sandwich shop.

* * *

"This is, Pi, your last minutes of being a Pikachu." Ash said, standing outside the Pokemon Center once more.

The duo had a big lunch, big enough to take them into mid-afternoon. They both knew they were hanging on to the time before Pikachu's evolution, so they played along with each other, both intentionally dragging the meal out until they mustered up the courage once more.

" _Yeah, I guess so."_ Pikachu replied, looking up at Ash. _"Okay, let's go. I'm ready."_ He said, full of determination.

Ash nodded, kneeling down and holding out the Thunderstone once more. Pikachu looked up at Ash, the two sharing a final nod of reassurance before Pikachu reached out and touched the stone with his tiny yellow paw. Both Pikachu and the stone began to glow white, the stone's energy morphing with Pikachu's as he began to grow and change shape.

Once the light dimmed, gone was his small yellow friend. In his place there was a larger Pokemon with dark orange fur and a cream-colored stomach area, patches of brown fur being visible at the end of both arms and feet. His ears were extended, covered in brown fur on the outside with yellow inside, both ears curling up at the tips while the electric sacs on his cheeks changed from red to yellow. The brown stripes on his back were lighter now, the same color as the more wire-like tail with a lightning bolt at the end.

Standing before Ash now was his best friend, Raichu.

"How do you feel, buddy?" Ash asked, standing up and reaching out his arm. Raichu grinned like a madman.

The larger rodent-like Pokemon launched forwards, no longer needing to climb up Ash's arm to reach his shoulder. No, instead the leap was possible in a sitting position. Ash was put off balance at first and, had he been ten years old still, would have fallen under his friends' weight. Now though, his shoulders were more than broad enough to accommodate the electric-type, and strong enough to do so as well, considering he knew a lot of the weight was being placed on his backpack that Raichu was placing his feet on. Eagerly, Raichu's new and longer tail wrapped around to the other side of Ash's head, poking him gently in the cheek as they chuckled together.

" _I feel… great, actually."_ Raichu told him happily. _"I already feel stronger, my body must've accounted for my already insane power, if I do say so myself."_ He continued. _"I can tell I already have much more potential to get even stronger now."_

"That's great, Raichu." Ash complimented, stressing Raichu's name with pride. "You wanna go a few rounds with Charizard?"

" _Hell yes, let that monster out here, I'll kick his ass right here, right now!"_ Raichu cried eagerly, cheeks sparking.

Ash yelped as he felt the discharge from his partners' cheek, something he was unaccustomed to feeling. Even so they laughed it off, Ash flicking Raichu's ear in a teasing response before plucking a Pokeball off his belt and letting it pop open, Charizard materializing as powerful looking as always.

He expected to have to fly Ash somewhere again, which was fine by him. He loved flying, especially with Ash and Pikachu on his back. It was always more peaceful in the sky where they had nothing to do, nothing to worry about. And Ash sometimes let him race the planes and helicopters too, that was always fun.

But when he saw the newly evolved Raichu sitting on Ash's shoulder, eyes narrowed, he knew. He knew that Raichu wanted a battle, even if it was a quick sparring session, against him as the true test of his newfound strength. Charizard knew he was Ash's strongest; he could beat down any of Ash's other Pokemon, including the pseudo-legendary Garchomp. But Pikachu was always his greatest opponent; the only Pokemon that Charizard knew could surpass him.

A battle with him right off the bat, fresh off the evolution, would be the quickest and easiest way to see how much his power had grown and how much further he could truly go. Charizard was more than happy to oblige.

* * *

"Here you are, sir, you're Pokemon are completely healed." Nurse Joy said, sliding the tray of Pokeballs across to the purple-haired young man on the other side of the counter.

Paul grunted his thanks and nodded his appreciation, taking and clipping the red and white orbs on his belt quickly. He was ready to get out of this shit-hole town. Solaceon was way to peppy and up beat for Paul to want to stay for more than a breather.

He practically sped out of the Center and stuffed his hands in his coat pockets. As he exited, the newspaper stand placed beside the outside of the door caught his attention for one reason. One word, to be more precise, that caused him to stop his actions.

Giovanni.

Paul yanked the copy on top out of the bin, reading the headline more closely.

"'Giovanni Innocent? External Forces At Play?' What is this crap?" Paul questioned out loud, angrily. He hadn't put the bastard away for nothing.

"I heard that another girl was to blame. Rose? Dandelion? No, no… something like that. She set him up to take the fall all along, she was pulling his strings." A passerby answered his question, walking up to stand on his side.

He looked up to see the owner of the voice, a girl about his age with blonde hair and large glasses. The blonde girl had on an outfit of orange and white while she wore an expression of confusion on her face as she strained to remember the name. Paul scowled; she was way too happy.

"You've read the thing then?" Paul asked bluntly.

"Not really, I'm not from around here." Bianca said. "If you want to know more, you'd need to ask my friend Luke about it, he's the journalist. I'm Bianca, by the way, a trainer."

"So, what DO you know about this situation?" Paul asked, not bothering to introduce himself.

"Me? Nothing really. I'm from Unova, both Luke and I am. I came to Sinnoh to try and get my last set of badges I needed to qualify for the Champion's League." Bianca told him, earning a skeptical look. "Luke isn't earning badges, but he came with me anyway. He took a job writing papers while we were here, and he actually wrote that very article." She added as an afterthought, giggling to herself.

"You're in the Champion's League and your friend wrote this?" Paul replied, folding up the paper. Maybe these two could help him yet.

"Well, I said try, didn't I? I just missed the cut, by a single badge too." Bianca said, pouting a bit. "But Luke did great, he had a great story."

Nevermind, Paul made up his mind.

"You believe this crap? That he's innocent?" Paul asked incredulously. Bianca nodded and shrugged. "Does Luke?" Bianca nodded and shrugged again. "I want to meet Luke." He demanded suddenly.

"Uh, sure? He should be going on break soon, anyway. I'm supposed to meet him here," She said, gesturing to a picnic table nearby. "You can stay if you want." Bianca offered kindly as she went to go sit down.

Paul took the offer as politely as he could and he even almost felt bad that he was legitimately thinking about beating some sense into this Luke person. Almost.

* * *

A half an hour later, Charizard lost.

Raichu had completely overwhelmed him. Everything from pure power of his electric attacks to the physical aspect of throwing his added body weight around was increased practically ten-fold from when he was in his prior stage. ThunderBolt from Raichu might as well have been a Zapdos using Thunder.

What had been a surprise to all the parties involved, Raichu was hardly any slower than before. Sure he had more weight to carry around now, but he had more than enough muscle and experience to quickly adjust. If anything, he was gaining even more speed, having relearned Agility mid-battle.

Charizard knew after losing just once that Raichu was Ash's strongest Pokemon. Sure, he was taken off guard by Raichu's newly found abilities, but that was not the only reason he lost. Which was also fine by him; it gave him all the more reason to get even stronger.

" _You did good, mouse. Real good. But don't relax yet; I won't just let you beat me that easy. I'll catch up to you again."_ Charizard said, before holding out his fist for Raichu to bump.

" _I wouldn't have it any other way."_ Raichu said, using his tail to bump Charizard's fist. The two Pokemon smiled at each other as Ash stepped between them, grinning.

"That's great you two, it looks like the age-old rivalry only keeps heating up instead of cooling down. Charizard, you did great. I doubt anyone would've been able to hold out that long against Raichu." Ash complimented, scratching Charizard's neck. The dual-type Pokemon grunted his agreement. "'Kay, return for now. Pidgeot will fly us on over to Virbank City while you rest, okay?"

Charizard wanted to argue, say that he was fine to fly to Virbank with his best friends. But he knew that go nowhere and that Ash had other Pokemon capable of flying them great distances. Charizard swore his trainer was even more stubborn than he was.

Ash smiled widely, patting Charizard a last time before sucking him back into his Pokeball and turning to Raichu.

"Raichu, that was amazing! You did great, and in your first battle too!" Ash praised, opening his arms for a hug.

Raichu responded eagerly, leaping into Ash's arms and trying to hug Ash back with his stumpy arms as Ash held him up. They laughed together again.

" _I did so much better than I thought, I was afraid of being slower so much that I remembered Agility, and instead of keeping me where I was it made me even faster, Ash! This is so great! I don't know what I was ever worried about!"_ Raichu cried, squirming from Ash's arms back onto the ground as his trainer took off his bag to rustle through it.

"That's great, buddy. I'm glad you're happy." Ash said, pulling out another Pokeball. "Here we are, Pidgeot." He muttered, tapping the center of it to enlarge the sphere. "Come on out, girl."

In another flash of light, Ash's Pidgeot appeared standing tall and proud as she cooed upon her entrance. Ash chuckled as he scratched her wing.

"Pidgeot, would it be okay if you flew us over to Virbank City?" Ash requested.

Pidgeot nodded and looked down, going to greet Pikachu. Imagine her surprise when by Ash's feet stood the larger Raichu. She got over her surprise rather quickly, nodding her praise and respect to the Mouse Pokemon.

" _Congratulations, Raichu. You both may get on, now."_ Pidgeot said, crouching down.

Ash and Raichu grinned as they hopped on simultaneously, Raichu taking the space directly in front of Ash. Pidgeot accounted for the extra weight with ease, their ascent losing no time at all as the Bird Pokemon sped north, on the way to Virbank City.

* * *

Gary approached the sandwich shop like he had last time, oozing confidence and expecting to see trio of rockets working. He was surprised when he could see them straight through the open back door, all three standing there looking off into the distance, leaving Wobbuffet overwhelmed with making sandwiches.

He ignored the blue blob in favor of exiting the backdoor himself, calling out at the quirky trio.

"What're you three doing?" Gary asked, confused. They shrugged in unison.

"We don't know." Jessie told him.

"It just feels like…" James continued, unable to describe it.

"Something's changed." Meowth agreed, shaking himself out of his stupor.

Jessie and James soon followed suit, turning their attention to the young researcher standing before them.

"What do you want? Here to have us deliver another message?" Jessie grumbled.

"I just wanted to know how it went, is all." Gary said, holding his hands up in surrender.

"It went fine, we left later than we expected but we found him pretty quick. We would've been back even sooner but we had to stay a night in Johto." James explained, before nudging Jessie with his elbow. "He said to give you this."

Jessie took James' hint and pulled out a piece of parchment from her pocket, handing it over to Gary. He quickly unfolded it, looking down in disappointment upon realizing it was the same letter he had gave Ash. For a moment, he felt so stupid, for tracking him down, for letting his hopes get so high.

That was until he saw the shadow of more writing on the page in the sunlight. He quickly turned the paper around and his face stretched rapidly into a wide grin as he read the message again and again. It wasn't much, hell it was barely anything at all, but it was all Gary needed.

It was Gary's confirmation, 100%, that Ash was alive and okay. That he was still out there, getting better and that he was coming back. Ash's message back was the only thing Gary needed to know that Ash Ketchum would be returning to fight in the Champion's League this year. And Gary was ecstatic.

Even if his message was only two words, they were the only two words Gary would need to help his friend out. On the back of Gary's neat, handwritten letter was two words messily and quickly scribbled, in print, onto the page.

Raidyn Stark.

* * *

"Hey Bianca," A new voice called, approaching the table. "Who's this?"

Paul's eyes snapped up to look at the person he assumed to be Luke. Truthfully, Luke was a nerd. He wore a button-up shirt, overalls and glasses, practically the nerd trifecta in Paul's book. Nevertheless, Bianca stood up to greet him happily.

"Luke! This is…uh, well, I'm not entirely sure." Bianca said, looking between the two. "He wanted to meet you though, to talk about your article."

Luke's face seemed to swell with pride.

'Well', Paul though. 'We'll fix that right now.'

"Yeah," Paul started. "It's garbage." He said harshly. Bianca and Luke's faces shifted into looks of shock. "Giovanni had nobody pulling his strings, and the girl, Black Tulip, was one of his underlings, not his mastermind."

"What do you mean, Giovanni himself presented compelling evidence in Kanto's court that-" Luke began, only to be cut off.

"He's a mob boss, that's what they do. They lie, cheat, steal and manipulate. You're falling right into his trap, writing and pushing bullshit like this. Archie and Maxie weren't innocent, neither is Giovanni." Paul stated, pushing himself up from the table.

"How would you know?" Luke shot back angrily. "It's not like anybody actually knows what happened, one day Team Rocket is an empire and the next they're completely collapsed, Giovanni was handed over to the cops without any hard evidence being presented other than the word of a stranger."

Paul had to stop himself from ripping the kid's head off.

He really shouldn't care that much, honestly. The only reason he had wanted to assist in taking down the organization was personal, anyway, and he only knew as much as he did because Ash had filled him in. But the last thing he wanted was for Giovanni to get out and begin to rebuild his empire.

"The stranger was a well respected individual who had been tracking and following Giovanni and Team Rocket's movements for months on end." Paul rebutted angrily.

"He didn't even give the police a name, how do you expect them to take that seriously?" Luke asked.

"He did too! How are you writing a paper when you don't even have all the facts?" Paul continued his verbal assault.

"Pfft, you think that counts as a name? How? How would anyone find someone like that, that's just a cover name, an alias?" Luke yelled back.

Bianca stood between the two boys confused as Luke glared and Paul had to resist swinging his arm.

"He gave the police a name? What was it?" She asked, confused. She hadn't asked Luke many questions, and hadn't actually paid attention when he bragged to her. Not when Zorua was so fluffy…

Luke was about to answer but Paul started talking first.

"It shouldn't matter, there's more than enough evidence to keep that creep in jail. If he gets out because of public support, all that'll happen is Team Rocket starting back up again, mark my words." Paul said, turning around to leave.

Before he left he threw one last comment over his shoulder.

"The name he gave was different than the one the news released; they misheard his name and ran with it. His name isn't The Dark Spark."

And with that, Paul walked away, leaving two very confused Unova-natives alone by a picnic table.

This was absolutely not good. Sure, Dark Spark was fine and a cool media name, but if that Jenny in Viridian City mishearing Ash giving his 'name' was going to cost them Giovanni's conviction, it wasn't worth it.

Paul knew the kind of person Ash was. He wouldn't pick up a newspaper even if he had changed over the years. Not to see the news anyway, maybe to blow his nose. So, Paul knew he had to break the news to him.

Now the only problem was, he had no idea where to find him.

* * *

"There, land there." Ash ordered, pointing downward.

Pidgeot cooed before going into a dive, faster than most would be comfortable with, before pulling up at the last second and swooping straight over a long dock to perch itself calmly on the ground, effectively using the dock as runway.

The entrance was certainly interesting, especially on something like a Pidgeot in Unova. Even so Ash never let that stop him before, so he took it in stride, dismounting his flying friend with ease as Raichu leaped down onto his shoulder again. Ash reached out to scratch Pidgeot's wing, getting a soft squawk of approval from her.

"That was great, Pidgeot. We made it here in no time, get some rest now, okay?" Ash praised, holding out her Pokeball. Ash waited until receiving a nod of agreement before he recalled her, passing the ball back to Raichu to slip into his bag.

The two made their way off the dock and back into the music-filled streets of Virbank City. He could see Roxie's influence over the town had only grown stronger, flyers everywhere being posted about upcoming times and locations Ash assumed she would be playing.

Shrugging, Ash made his way over to one to check it out. Upon closer inspection he learned that one of those times was in for six o'clock, and the boy clicked his tongue as he looked over to Raichu.

"Well, there goes the hope of a battle right away." Ash said, turning away from the flier. "She's preforming again in ten minutes. Maybe after her show?"

" _Typical, we finally get somewhere we want to be when we want to and we still miss out."_ Raichu agreed, rolling his eyes. _"I guess at the least this opens the door for dinner, right?"_

"Geez, pal, we just ate that huge lunch. I know you've put on a few pounds but slow down a little, why don't you?" Ash teased. His taunting was ruined, however, by the sound of his growling stomach. Raichu smirked. "On second thought, today's been a big day. Celebratory feast?"

Raichu nodded, smiling widely as they made their way over to an eatery. Pokemon Center food was fine, but it was nice to have something else once in a while. The only plus to Pokemon Centers was that the whole team could be fed, which was a lot harder to find with most restaurants. Luckily, this venue only needed to serve Ash and Raichu.

Although to be fair, that was basically about as much as most whole teams ate on average.

Ash and Raichu made their way through the place through the backdoor where the seating was much more open. The tables were circular, seats wrapping around the whole thing and under nice little umbrellas, a much better eating place than being cramped up in booths inside.

There were smaller versions of the menu on the table the duo sat down at, both choosing to look at a single copy.

"This place doesn't look bad at all, huh?" Ash asked, reading the menu over once more.

" _Yeah, everything looks sounds good."_ Raichu agreed as he used his tail to point to things on the menu.

"You sure that's not your stomach talking?" He teased. Raichu rolled his eyes as he gently zapped Ash with his tail, causing the teen to jump. "Whatever. Just tell me what you want so I can go order."

Ten minutes later Ash returned with two cheeseburgers, three orders of fries, a bottle of ketchup, a can of Pokemon food and a pair of large sodas.

Ash sat down again, sliding Raichu the Pokemon food first and one of the drinks.

"You can start on the fries and ketchup when you finish that. You can't survive on just ketchup, Raichu." Ash explained at the electric-type's grumpy look.

Just as Ash and Raichu began to dig into their food, the sound of a voice over a microphone caught their attention. Looking towards the source of the voice, they saw that it was a man on a large stage standing in front of a curtain.

"And now folks, you know her, you love her, give it up for our local celebrity, Gym Leader Roxie!" The, apparently, announcer told the crow.

Everyone sitting around Ash cheered loudly as the curtain lifted, exposing Roxie and her band mates behind it and ready to rock.

She had changed since Ash had last seen her, sure, but still unmistakably Roxie. Her hair was bleach white still, the exception being two strands of hair dyed light blue and purple, only longer and hanging down now, as opposed to keeping it tied up. Her color scheme was still the same, a light blue jacked that stopped at her waist with purple accents, left unzipped to reveal the bright purple t-shirt underneath was her style of choice now, in addition to her blue jeans with purple pockets and purple flat-top heels.

The guitar she was clutching seemed to be the same, if a little banged up now.

All in all she looked much more like a performer now than a gym leader. Although, he supposed, looks could be deceiving. Even years ago, she didn't look like she could take out five of his six Pokemon with only three of her own at first glance.

"Hello Virbank City!" Roxie cried, taking the microphone into her hand. She paused, letting the crowd cheer. "Are you ready to rock?"

Roxie let the crowd cheer once more before turning to her band and giving a signal. With that, the concert officially began.

"What do you think, bud? We can stay and listen to a few songs, can't we?" Ash encouraged. Raichu nodded.

" _Why not? I mean, the gym leader is busy so we couldn't actually do anything else anyway."_ Raichu agreed, hopping onto the table to see better.

"Besides, how long can this concert last? I'm sure we'll get a battle when it's over." Ash said as he began to rock his head to the hum of the music, Raichu clanging his tail onto the metal table to match the beat.

* * *

Jessie, James and Meowth had just finished up with their day. Jessie and James were washing dishes while Meowth clocked the three of them out of work for the day; all of them ready to go home.

They had only worked a few hours today, but they had the unfortunate luck of working both the lunch and dinner rushes. Luckily enough, they didn't have to bother with the researcher twerp for that long today. He seemed to be content with the alias the twerp replied to him with.

Of course they knew what it was, but they weren't just going to go around telling people that.

Jessie had just slipped out the back door, waiting for James, Meowth and Wobbuffet to follow her when her phone began to ring. Shrugging, she answered it without bothering to check the caller id.

"Prepare for trouble, I'm done for the day." Jessie mumbled into the phone.

"Make it double, by that I mean our pay." James' voice came from the doorway he exited with Meowth, even though he knew he couldn't be heard on the other line.

" _Enough with that, already."_ The gruff voice on the other end spoke. Jessie's eyes widened as she pulled the phone away to put it on speaker.

"Um, yes?" She asked, confused.

" _I need you to tell me where he is."_ Paul's voice sounded again. James and Meowth looked at each other and at Jessie.

"Well, it appears that it's the angry twerp." James deduced. Meowth jumped to pull on his ear.

"O' course it is, what gave it away, the name in da phone or the angry voice?" The Scratch Cat said teasingly.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet agreed, saluting.

" _Seriously, all I need is to know where he is."_ Paul said again.

"Well, we'd hate to burst your bubble, twerp, but we don't know." Jessie told him. Paul growled from the other side of the line.

"We know where he usually is, but he told us that he was probably going off to train somewhere for the league. He didn't tell us where." James continued.

" _Is there any way you could find out?"_ Paul asked. _"I need to talk with him about something."_

The trio and Wobbuffet exchanged looks. On one hand, they didn't exactly owe him any favors and they were by no means upstanding citizens. On the other, Paul didn't often ask for favors, especially not from them and especially not about Ash. He was more than happy to let the main twerp go off and do his own thing. For him to be asking this, it had to be important.

"We'll try. Tracking the twerp is our specialty, you know?" James agreed.

"We'll let ya know when we got something." Meowth told him.

" _Okay."_ There was a brief pause before a ground out, _"Thanks."_ Came over the phone before a dial tone was heard.

The trio looked to each other once more, shrugging.

"So, how do you suppose we actually go about finding the twerp?" James asked, looking to his partner.

"I, uh, haven't figured that part out yet." Jessie replied. The group sighed in unison.

"It's gonna be a long day." They mumbled to themselves, beginning to trudge away from their place of work.

"Wobba!" Wobbuffet agreed.

* * *

"Five hours." Ash muttered to himself. "That concert lasted five hours."

He had absolutely not expected it to go on for that long but in retrospect, he should've. Roxie was a huge star, even way back then. Of course her popularity would have grown and she would've gotten better. But still, five hours?

" _I know I was done by three. Music that loud takes a lot out of you, you know?"_ Raichu mumbled.

"Four encores. She was asked for four encores, and she obliged every time." Ash recalled. "I don't know how she does it, bud. I'm beat just from listening."

" _We should probably stick to battles then, huh? I guess we're not cut out to be musicians."_ Raichu joked.

The two were on their way to the Pokemon Center with the intent on relaxing for a few hours, maybe playing around on the Pokedex a little. There was no way they were battling Roxie tonight, it was approaching midnight, and to be honest, neither of them would have approved anyway.

They were exhausted from attending the concert, they couldn't imagine how tired out Roxie was from actually preforming it. Ash would've passed out on the stage then and there.

Besides, scrolling through the Pokedex wasn't the worst way to end the night. It was what helped Ash figure out what moves to teach his Pokemon as well as helping him decide which new ones he should catch, so it was extremely helpful to spend a few hours looking through it.

"Yeah, it's what we're good at. We'll have to wait until tomorrow if we wanna battle Roxie, though." Ash told Raichu, who nodded his agreement.

With that, Pallet's duo made their way into the Pokemon Center and to their temporary room where they spent the rest of their night cooped up.

Or, that's how it would've gone if they hadn't come across a move in the Pokedex that Ash was very interested in teaching a certain Pokemon he was contemplating using in tomorrow's match. Ash grinned, jumping up and taking the sole Pokeball as he and Raichu sprinted out the Center's back doors onto the deserted battlefield, leaving everything form his bag to his hat and cloak behind except his Pokedex.

"Alright, I choose you-" Ash cried, throwing his Pokeball.

* * *

 **Another one in the books, guys! Thanks so much for reviewing and following this story!**

 **Sorry if you expected the gym battle, which was the original plan but then I just kind of word vomited all this up and I like the way it came out.**

 **Naturally, not every chapter will be a battle as there is an underlying story and there will also be important battles that aren't with gym leaders later on. If you guys think the gym leader battles should happen every chapter then basically the chapters would have to be longer because there are other important things happening.**

 **With that said, let me know your thoughts, feelings and questions on this chapter please! All right, let's look at your reviews then…**

* * *

 **Leoncrazy59:** _ **Have you seen the anime? The amount of shit that the Officer Jenny's take lightly is insane; Ash has been seen being more helpful than almost every Jenny that has appeared. Police Officer wouldn't just turn the other way, but many Officer Jenny's absolutely would.**_

 **Fullmetal-Vampire:** _ **Aww, thank you!**_

 **DarkPirateKing69:** _ **You hit the nail on the head, friend! I would agree with you for the most part, the only way I feel that Ash has a chance at winning the Alola League if he doesn't in Kalos is if the same writers stay. They could be building up to it; everything they've shown us so far couldn't have been for absolutely nothing.**_

 **Stars90:** _ **That's exactly what I was going for, thanks a lot! Also, a little bit of both I guess. Whether it has certain ties to Ash or you just think it would be a good fit, I'd be more than happy to take the suggestion into consideration.**_

 **Maerk Andrew:** _ **Yes, I'm still thinking of bringing in Sabrina even if it isn't in a harem or even as a love interest at all. I like Sabrina as a character a lot, so if I can do something special with her it would be nice. Ash being related to a gym leader is an interesting theory, don't know how plausible, but he's definitely closer with some than others, friendship wise.**_

 **Vital Info:** _ **Thanks; I'll keep you in mind if I need one, even if it is just to fill a space. And I agree completely about the aura thing, but I figured I couldn't ignore it completely because it is a little aggravating that canon has done the same thing for so long.**_

 _ **Thanks for the advice, as you can see I sort of took your advice and brought Agility back into the game.**_

 _ **You guessed it, sir. That's pretty much what happens, now we just need to see if Ash will take the bait of Gary's words and come see him to see how everyone has been over the years. Also, the alias took a bit of digging around and a while to decide on, so I'm glad you approve!**_

 **PraetorFable:** _ **Lucky you, you didn't have to wait long!**_

 **Ditto1235:** _ **Thanks for your suggestions and while I don't think Riolu is very likely, I've actually become very interested with the idea of giving him Steelix. Maybe…**_

* * *

 **That's all for now, guys! Keep reviewing your thoughts, good or bad, and I'll (hopefully) update once again soon!**


	6. Really Rocking the Virbank Gym

A Hero's Rebirth

Chapter Six: Really Rocking the Virbank Gym

* * *

Ash and Raichu yawned as they emerged from their room a bit later than they expected.

It was almost noon, a few hours over what they usually slept until these days. Although, they supposed that staying up through most of the night to help a fellow teammate perfect a new move for today's upcoming gym battle was definitely worth the trade off of a few hours.

Roxie was a tough one, Ash knew, so he didn't expect this battle to be over quickly. That wasn't stopping him from hoping to get over to Castelia City today, if not battle Burgh too. He may have been pushing his luck, though.

"Alright, so I was thinking that we'd get a quick breakfast and head for the gym. Then we'll let everyone out for lunch, go over where we are now while we have forest around. You know when we get to Castelia there won't be any place big enough to hold us all." Ash said, slipping his had onto his head.

" _Sounds good to me. I don't suppose I'll get to battle this time too, will I?"_ Raichu asked. Ash shook his head.

"Sorry pal, I have some already lined up. Besides, you just got to battle. I know you were holding back, but I can't use just you, you know." Ash told his partner, who regretfully agreed.

So, a quick (and of course, large) breakfast later, Ash and Raichu marched over to the gym. They were pleasantly surprised to see Roxie heading towards it too, wearing a striped sweater to go with her jeans this time. She smiled at them as they approached, waving gently.

"Hey," She said when he got close enough. "I guess you're here for a gym battle?"

"I am." Ash told her. "But not just any gym battle." She looked up at him, eyebrow raised. "I want a battle against your personal team."

Ash saw the fire come to life in her eyes. Oh yeah, she hadn't changed a bit.

"That's what I call a great start to the day. It's not everyday that someone gives you an opportunity to let loose like that, ya know?" Roxie told him, unlocking the gym and pushing the door open.

The gym was how he remembered it for the most part, minus the adoring fans.

"We have to wait a few minutes," She started, going over to the makeshift stage in the gym to inspect the equipment. "My referee should be here soon."

Ash nodded before turning around to inspect the place closer, appreciating the graffiti on the walls and the power of the instruments set up by Roxie's side of the field. They were talented musicians, indeed. Raichu hopped down from Ash's shoulder to stand by his feet and look around on his own.

"So, what's your name?" Roxie asked, approaching him.

"Raidyn, Raidyn Stark. Nice to meet you." Ash introduced, holding out his arm. Roxie shook it with enthusiasm. "I saw you preform yesterday. You were really good."

"Aw, thanks. It was nothing special really, I do those all the time." Roxie brushed off. She didn't miss the odd expression she received in return. "Something wrong?"

"No it's just… I couldn't imaging doing that all the time." Ash told her. "I was exhausted just from listening to the whole thing, I couldn't imagine being the one doing it. Let alone all the time."

"It's what I love, ya know? I get tired too, but it's always worth it to keep going." Roxie admitted with a shrug.

"I'll try to remember that." Ash said truthfully, although he was sure he had already adapted a similar motto.

The two chatted aimlessly for only a few more minutes, until the door swung open again to let a man in the standard referee garb enter. Roxie smiled at him before gesturing towards Ash.

"We got a feisty one today Billy," Roxie told the ref. "He wants me to use my personal team."

"So this is the man Cheren spoke of?" Billy asked, causing Roxie and Ash's eyes to widen.

"Cheren… spoke of me?" Ash questioned. "When did you call Cheren?"

"He called me, actually." Roxie said, sighing. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to think that all we gym leaders did was gossip with each other," She shot a quick look at her ref who retreated to his box. "But he wanted to give me the heads up. By now though, all the others probably have a heads up too."

Ash shrugged. Ordinarily it put challengers at a disadvantage because sometimes they shared knowledge of the challengers Pokemon, but that didn't make a difference to him. He had always been an unpredictable one.

"They're going to need it." He replied confidently.

"Definitely a feisty one." Roxie said with a grin. "This battle will be fun." She finished, retreating to her side of the field. Ash copied her, standing opposite the leader as the ref cleared his throat.

* * *

"This will be an official gym battle between Roxie, the gym leader, and Raidyn Stark, the challenger! The battle will be 3-on-3 and will be over when all Pokemon on either side are unable to continue battling! Only the challenger can substitute Pokemon when they see fit." The ref announced. "Now, let the battle begin! Select your Pokemon!"

"Usually I let my challengers have an advantage over me, give them the option to use more Pokemon than I do, especially against my personal team. But Cheren warned be about you, Raidyn, that you were different." Roxie said, unclipping her chosen Pokeball.

"I'm touched you're not going easy on me, Roxie. I'll return the favor." Ash replied, clutching his own Pokeball as Raichu sat by contently.

"Weezing, let's rock!" Roxie selected.

The Pokemon Roxie selected appeared, being a purple floating Pokemon, two heads connected by a tube that was connected to another sphere, floating in the center. The smaller head on the right had eyes, two pointy teeth and a cream-colored circle below its face. The larger head had more prominent eyebrows and pointy teeth at the bottom of its mouth, as well as flat teeth on the top and markings similar in color to the smaller head, only it more closely resembled a skull and crossbones than a circle.

Ash smiled. He was hoping she'd start with Weezing, remembering her Koffing quite well. This could pay off soon, then.

"Donphan, I choose you!" Ash cried, tossing his own Pokeball.

In front of Ash appeared a grey elephant-like Pokemon, its back and trunk being covered in a thick layer of dark grey armor. Around the feet, there were matching blocks of armor that didn't quite connect. Ash's Donphan, being male, had a larger set of tusks than most coming from his face. Donphan stomped his feet, raring to go.

"You can have the first move, Raidyn." Roxie said. "You'll need it."

"Thanks, we'll show you that we don't. Donphan, **Take Down**." Ash ordered.

Donphan charged Weezing, faster than one would've expected a Donphan to be able to run. It was enough of a surprise that it let the attack hit, Donphan jumping and crashing into Weezing, both of them falling to the ground.

" **Earthquake**!" Ash ordered quickly, while Weezing was grounded.

Unfortunately, he was too late as Weezing easily floated upward once Donphan passed. Donphan shook the ground anyway, but Weezing levitated harmlessly above it. Roxie smirked.

"Use **Assurance** , Weezing!" Roxie ordered.

Weezing turned around in the air, a hand made from dark energy forming at its center. Upon release it went straight at Donphan, pushing the Armor Pokemon into the ground as it cried in pain.

" **Assurance** 's power is doubled when it hits a Pokemon that's already taken damage recent enough. Like the recoil from **Take Down**." Roxie bragged, watching Raidyn grit his teeth. "Hit it with a G **yro Ball**!"

Ash watched as Weezing began to spin around rapidly, its circling body generating a ring of light blue aura around it as it spun down to head directly Donphan with its back turned. He also watched as Donphan tried to turn itself around. It was unable to due to the enclosed area and it was kicking up tiny rocks with its attempts to escape. Roxie smirked again as Ash countered.

" **Rollout** , but go forward!" Ash told it. Roxie was confused, seeing very plainly that Donphan had nowhere to go.

Nevertheless, Donphan pulled its entire body under his armor to make a ball of nothing but power as he spun rapidly, bumping repeatedly into the wall of dirt in front of him. However, with his attempts to escape he was kicking up a lot of debris underneath him, all of it firing back towards the incoming Weezing. One rock was big enough to get a lucky shot, hitting below the belt of glowing energy and causing the poison-type to tip too far forwards.

"There you go, Donphan! Now reverse **Rollout**!" Ash said.

Donphan obeyed, the direction of the spinning changed immediately and he went up the makeshift ramp that had created with his thrashing about with ease. The Poison Gas Pokemon had rectified itself by now, floating in front of Roxie again.

"Rock n' Roll with **Sludge Bomb**!" Roxie continued. Multiple brown globs fired from Weezing's mouth across the field towards Donphan.

" **Rollout** to dodge!" Ash told Donphan. Donphan curled up and took off again, zipping around the field to avoid the onslaught of brown globs that were being fired from his opponent. Roxie decided to change her plan.

"Go in for a **Gyro Ball** now, Weezing!" She cried.

Weezing spun again, the belt of light blue returning as the Poison Gas Pokemon rapidly headed towards the unknowing Donphan. Ash knew **Rollout** couldn't overpower **Gyro Ball** ; the same way that Scrafty's **High Jump Kick** overpowered it with the type advantage over the rock-type move, **Gyro Ball** would as well. His only option was to change attacks.

"Go into **Defense Curl** , let it carry you!" Ash said.

Donphan hit the brakes, coming to a hard stop just in time for Weezing to ram him and take him moving again in the way he just came. The Armor Pokemon did what Ash said and let Weezing force him back, easily rolling backwards.

"More force, push it into the wall!" Roxie demanded.

"We can't have that, throw it off you with **Heavy Slam**!" Ash countered.

Just as Weezing began to apply more force to Donphan, the elephant's body was shrouded in a yellow glow before being outlined in yellow completely. Then, with a mighty grunt, Donphan forced Weezing back and onto the ground before dropping all his body weight down onto the poison-type.

" **Flamethrower** , get it off you!" Roxie cried worriedly.

Ash's eyes widened, as he wasn't expecting that one. He watched as a torrent of flames came from Weezing's mouth, forcing Donphan's body up and off of it. Weezing floated up and back as Donphan roughly landed on the ground, pushing to his feet.

Ash looked around, scanning the battlefield. He knew he could win this one if he could land an **Earthquake** , but to get Weezing on the ground was easier said than done. Even using the move they practiced last night, Donphan needed to be in perfect position. Right now, the only position that seemed to be good enough was above Weezing, but Donphan couldn't jump very high of his own volition.

Suddenly, images ran through Ash's mind. Well, he decided, this would suck and could very well end badly.

"Donphan, do you trust me?" Ash asked. Donphan's response was a nod, not even a full second later. "Okay, I need you to hang on a little longer, can you do that?" Again, a nod came in reply.

"You dudes rock, you know? Not many Pokemon would still be standing, let alone ready for even more. Too bad it's about to end for you two. **Sludge Bomb** , go!" Roxie complimented as she commanded her attack.

Ash's eyes narrowed. That wasn't what he needed. What had he done last time that she had called for… Ah ha!

" **Rollout** to dodge, again!" Ash yelled. He could see the command in Roxie's eyes.

" **Gyro Ball** , once more!" She ordered.

Once more the **Gyro Ball** of Weezing was heading towards Donphan, but this time Ash planned to make use of it.

"Roll back a little!" Ash's command came just in time, Weezing crashing into the ground not a second later. "Now forward again!" Donphan rolled forward, using the Weezing embedded into the ground as a ramp to launch himself into the air.

Roxie gasped as Ash smirked. Weezing easily floated up again, more battered and bruised than before.

" **Flamethrower** , knock them out of the sky!" Roxie cried.

"Oh no you don't! **Rock Slide,** go!" Ash countered.

Donphan's body quickly glowed white as it called forth white ripples of energy, all appearing directly below Donphan as opposed to above, thanks to the height gained in **Rollout.** Large grey boulders fell from the ripples, obstructing the **Flamethrower** from hitting its target as well as hitting Weezing, dragging the Poison Gas Pokemon down to the ground.

Neither Ash nor Roxie could see through the smoke, but Ash yelled a command anyways.

"Finish it, Donphan! **Earthquake**!" He cried.

Donphan bellowed his name as the ripples of energy disappeared and the boulders broke into pieces while the Armor Pokemon fell from the sky and landed on the ground with a mighty thud, the earth shaking in an instant. The attack kicked up even more dust, both Ash and Roxie coughing and straining to see.

Moments later the dust had settled to reveal a winner.

"Weezing is unable to battle, Donphan is the winner!" Billy cried. "Roxie, select your next Pokemon!"

Roxie recalled Weezing with a quiet 'thank you' before selecting another Pokeball.

"Rock n' Roll, Scolipede!" Roxie chose her next battler.

Roxie's Scolipede appeared, being a large centipede-like Pokemon with the front of its body being raised up off the ground. Its body was dark magenta on top and a smooth, dark black underneath. Antenna-like horns extended from its head and rear end, marked with purple stripes. Teardrops of the same color marked each segment of its body on either side with four pairs of short claws on the part that made up its neck.

Ash quickly assessed Donphan's condition and knew that he wouldn't win this match up. However, knowing that Roxie's last Pokemon was most likely Garbodor, he also knew Donphan couldn't defeat that either. Donphan looked back to Ash, giving a nod and they decided together that they just needed to deal as much damage as they can. Ash was confident that Donphan could hang on a little longer.

"We're gonna keep going, Roxie!" Ash said. "Your turn."

"Scolipede, rock 'em with **Poison Tail**!" Roxie commanded immediately.

Both of Scolipede's tails glowed purple as the dual-type Pokemon swung them towards Donphan. Ash countered just in time.

"Stop it in its tracks with an **Earthquake**!" Ash yelled.

Once more Donphan shook the ground they stood on, causing Scolipede to halt its attack and falter the delivery of the attack. This led to an opportunity that Ash quickly capitalized on.

"Now, **Rollout**!" He ordered.

Donphan took off spinning once more, intent on ramming the large centipede-like Pokemon. Scolipede took the initiative this time and used the **Poison Tail** it had powered up to deflect the **Rollout** attack, sending Donphan hurling towards the wall.

"Bounce back towards Scolipede, and combine **Rollout** with **Fire Fang**!" Ash cried, surprising both Roxie and Scolipede.

Donphan ricocheted off the wall, leaving an indentation behind, and back towards Roxie's Pokemon while using **Fire Fang** , making it appear as a ball of fire due to the constant spinning.

"Hold it off with **Venoshock**!" Roxie called.

Scolipede shot off a thick stream of green poison towards Donphan's fireball, the green goo effectively suffocating the flames rather easily. The **Rollout** , however, easily continued on to plow through the toxic stream to ram into Scolipede's neck before dropping to the floor and rolling away.

"Finish it with an **Aqua Tail**!" Roxie ordered.

Scolipede's tails glowed blue before it turned around to aim a powerful jet of water at Donphan. Donphan's reaction was a tad to slow, so the Armor Pokemon was caught in the stream and forced back against the wall, pinned with the force of the super-effective attack. As the attack ended, Donphan dropped from the wall, unconscious.

"Donphan is unable to battle, Scolipede is the winner!" Billy cried. "Challenger, select your next Pokemon!"

"Donphan, you did great. Take a rest, we'll handle this." Ash said to the Pokeball before swapping it for another one.

"Now, Muk, I choose you!"

In front of Ash appeared a large amorphous blob of a Pokemon, made from living sludge. Only eyes and a gaping mouth were visible amongst the ooze and slime dripping from Muk's body. The blobby Pokemon reared up higher, making himself look larger, grunting with happiness at battling again.

"I see," Roxie started. "While poison-type attacks aren't very effective on poison-type Pokemon, pitting a poison-type of your own against mine prevents moves like Toxic from working. Too bad, I love that move." She smirked. "Clever, but it won't win you this battle. Scolipede, **Megahorn**!"

The twin horns on Scolipede's head glowed with a green light as the dual-type charged and took aim Muk with both horns. Ash knew Scolipede was too big for Muk to absorb the impact without any damage, as the bulk of the Pokemon mattered very much when it came to tanking attacks.

"Dodge with **Minimize**!" Ash ordered quickly.

Muk's body glowed a pink-ish color before he shrunk down to a minuscule size long enough for Scolipede to pass by before growing and expanding to his default size right after.

" **Shadow Punch** , quickly!" Ash continued.

Muk turned around rapidly, his fists becoming shrouded in grey aura outlined in purple. The Sludge Pokemon made an action resembling a punch, sending two of the shadow-y clone fists straight into Scolipede's back.

"Show 'em they can't run, Scolipede! **Steamroller**!" Roxie demanded.

Scolipede's body quickly curled up into a ball before becoming outlined in white energy, the Megapede Pokemon rolling fast into and over Muk, driving it back and under the spinning bug-type until it passed. Muk's shape formed again, glaring.

"In case you were wondering, now that Muk has used **Minimize** , **Steamroller** won't ever miss! Thanks for that!" Roxie teased, flashing Ash the peace sign.

" **Sludge Bomb**!" Ash called.

Muk opened his mouth wide, letting many globs of brown sludge be hurled rapidly through the air.

"Stop them with **Screech**!" Roxie countered.

An ear-splitting cry erupted from Scolipede, so loud visible sound-waves traveled across the field to make contact with Muk's **Sludge Bomb** , tearing through the globs rather easily to continue on to Muk, who groaned in pain. Ash fought to keep from covering his own ears.

"Now use **Double Edge**!" She continued. Scolipede obeyed, charging forward at the disoriented Muk at top-speed.

It was then that Ash had another idea.

" **Minimize** , again!" Ash cried.

"Switch to **Steamroller**!"

At the same moment Muk shrunk down once more, Scolipede curled up to surround itself in a white energy once more in an attempt to pass over the Sludge Pokemon. Before it could, however, Ash cried out.

" **Pain Split**!" He ordered suddenly.

Muk's flattened body produced a dark purple orb that created tethers attacked to both Muk and Scolipede, sharing the pain the Ash's poison-type was enduring. Scolipede flinched for a moment, backing off Muk and rising up out of its curled form, only for Ash to order another attack.

" **Gunk Shot**!" Ash yelled, pumping his fist.

Muk, not bothering to put any distance between the two, created a black trash bag surrounded in purple energy. The trash bag was immediately hurled at Scolipede, who was still shaking off pain from **Pain Split** and too distracted to attempt to dodge or block. Upon connecting with the Megapede Pokemon, the bag of trash broke open to reveal a dozen items, glowing in an eerie purple light, damaging Scolipede more.

"Create some distance with **Aqua Tail**!" Roxie ordered next.

Like before, Scolipede's tails glowed blue and when they turned to be aimed a powerful torrent of spinning water shot forth, slamming into Muk and pushing him backwards.

" **Sludge Bomb** , again!" Ash ordered.

" **Screech** , same as before!" Roxie countered.

Just like before the brown globs of sludge were torn through by the ear-aching sound waves and Scolipede's Screech headed straight for Muk. This time, Ash had a plan.

"Hurry and use **Gunk Shot**!" He cried.

Muk shot another trash bag at Scolipede in a hurry. The bag exploded upon contact with the waves and released its toxic contents all over to be pushed aside by the **Screech**. Once the **Screech** reached Muk, however, it had significantly less effect on the Sludge Pokemon than last time. Roxie gasped again, replaying the scene in her mind.

"You managed to weaken **Screech** by letting the debris of **Gunk Shot** absorb a portion of the attacks power? Genius." Roxie muttered to herself. "Just who are you?"

" **Sludge Bomb** , again!" Ash ordered.

Once more the brown blobs were hurled through the air and for the first time made contact with the dual-type centipede, causing it to recoil backward for a few moments. Then, Roxie gave her next command.

"End it now, Scolipede! Rock their world with a **Bulldoze**!" She demanded.

Scolipede's eyes narrowed as it pushed back against the poison-type attack long enough to furiously stomp on the ground, kicking up a spike of rock to send a shock-wave over the ground in all directions. Muk couldn't get out of the way in time and ended up hit and thrown back by the attack. Ash sighed as the ref made the call.

"Muk is unable to battle, Scolipede wins again!" He cried. "Challenger, send out your last Pokemon!"

"What'll be your strategy this time?" Roxie asked with a smirk, watching her challenger recall his Muk. He grinned.

'You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? Meganium, I choose you!" Ash cried, releasing his Johto starter.

In Muk's place appeared a light green sauropod-like Pokemon with a large pink flower around its neck, white tips and yellow centers matching the antenna from its nose. The Meganium stood tall and proud, but not before shooting a quick cheer and smile back at her trainer.

"A grass type? And you were doing so well, Raidyn." Roxie taunted. Ash just smirked. "We'll end this quick for you. **Venoshock**!"

"Oh, it'll end quick alright. Block that with **Energy Ball**!" Ash ordered.

Meganium powered up a sphere of glowing green energy immediately, expanding rapidly in size. It soon became large enough to effectively be used as a shield against the glowing green goop Scolipede had shot towards her, despite the ball shrinking by the second due to the type disadvantage.

"Fire it, now." Ash told her next. Meganium listened, despite not seeing the point in firing the now-tiny attack.

"Knock it away with your tail, Scolipede!" Roxie told it. Scolipede didn't even need to power up an attack to protect against the damage of the weakened grass-type attack, easily dissipating it from existence.

"Perfect, switch to **Earthquake** , quickly!" Ash transitioned.

Meganium let out a cry at the same time Roxie let out a gasp, the Johto starter shaking the ground beneath them all once more as Donphan had before her. This **Earthquake** had caused Scolipede to lose its footing rather easily, collapsing it onto its side. Before Roxie even had a chance to counter attack, Ash ordered again.

"Finish it off with a fully charged **Energy Ball**!" He shouted.

The **Energy Ball** was quickly charged and shot once again, the final product being much larger in size this time, not having to defend against any oncoming attacks. The grass type attack struck the downed dual-type with such force it pushed it backward across the field and, true to Ash's word, finished it off.

"Scolipede is unable to continue battling, Meganium is the winner!" Billy declared. "Leader Roxie, send out your final Pokemon!"

"Garbodor, let's rock!" Roxie yelled, switching out the Megapede Pokemon.

Garbodor's appearance hadn't changed in the slightest, just as large and messy as Ash remembered. Garbodor towered over Meganium, its body covered in blue and pink lumps matching those on its head and arms, which were held together with garbage and piping. One hand had three pipe-like fingers, the other only having a single tube, and the Trash Heap Pokemon glared at Meganium, raising both arms over its head to appear even larger.

"Meganium may have beaten Scolipede, but it was just tired. It doesn't stand a chance against Garbodor." Roxie insisted.

"Oh yeah? We'll just have to show you how wrong you are." Ash replied. "Meganium, start off with **Seed Bomb**!"

Meganium obeyed, opening her mouth to shoot a barrage of glowing green seeds towards the gym leaders Pokemon. Roxie smiled easily.

" **Sludge Bomb**!" She countered.

Garbodor raised the hand that had three tubes protruding the end of its arm and fired multiple globs of brown sludge from the tree pipes that met the **Seed Bomb** in mid air, cancelling out almost perfectly other than a few stray seeds and globs here and there.

" **Energy Ball**!" Ash ordered again. Roxie smirked.

"Knock it away, Garbodor!" She cried.

Garbodor's arm stretched out to meet the **Energy Ball** towards the middle of the field before backhanding the grass-type attack away and into a wall, causing Ash to grit his teeth.

"Now, **Gunk** **Shot**!" She cried next. Garbodor responded in kind, creating a bag of trash between its hands to throw at the Johto starter.

"Use **Petal Blizzard** to defend!" Ash yelled hastily.

Meganium became surrounded in a tornado of leaves, blue glowing heart-shaped leaves that stretched all the way up to the ceiling, spiraling all the way down to Meganium's feet. It looked like a cyclone of blue energy that even **Gunk Shot** 's debris was unable to completely penetrate. The remains of the garbage bag were shredded under the power of Meganium's attack, exploding to kick up a large dust could. Once cleared, Meganium stood unharmed.

" **Double Slap** , Garbodor!" Roxie called.

"Hold it off with **Vine Whip**!" Ash countered.

Garbodor's arms extended across the field, aided by the pipes that held them to its body, in order to slap Meganium repeatedly, only the Herb Pokemon extended vines from behind the flower on her neck to meet the hands, all four appendages battling it out between both sides.

"Quick, grab Meganium's vines!" Roxie ordered. Quick enough, one of Garbodor's hands had wrapped itself around both Meganium's vines, holding onto them tight. "Now **Venoshock**!"

Using its free hand, with one pipe, Garbodor aimed the pipe at Meganium, spraying a thick green liquid violently from it, the toxic substance heading towards the starter Pokemon at a rapid pace. Ash's mind raced to think of a quick solution.

"Push yourself upward with your vines!" He cried desperately, ignoring the look on Roxie's face that said it was an impossible maneuver. "I know you can do it, girl!"

Meganium's resolve steeled, the vines hardening as she put more force on them to yank them downward. Garbodor, not expecting the sudden display of strength, only applied more grip to them in time to be yanked down to the ground with them. Unlike Meganium, however, who flew upward, Garbodor's face was implanted into the ground. Ash hummed in approval as Roxie gasped, her astonishment clear.

"Come down with **Body Slam**!" Ash spoke again.

"Ugh, turn over and use **Sludge**!" Roxie grunted.

Meganium retracted her vines as she began to descend rapidly, her stomach ready to land on top of Garbodor. Until the Trash Heap Pokemon swiftly flipped over and shot a continuous stream of dark brown substance out of its piped hands straight up at Meganium. The attack slowed the fall down, but Meganium was heavy enough to continue falling through to land directly on Garbodor still. Once the dust cloud disappeared once more, it was clear that Garbodor and Meganium were still able to battle, both standing once more.

"Hey, that's pretty sick that Meganium was able to finish its **Body Slam** through that **Sludge** attack." Roxie complimented. "But don't think that's won you this battle just yet. **Sludge Bomb** now, Garbodor!"

"Not so fast, tear through it with **Petal Blizzard**!" Ash countered.

Meganium's vortex of blue leaf-petals formed again, only to be shot forward on the offensive this time and the sharp edges of the leaves had no trouble tearing through Garbodor's poison-type attack, although it left much less of the attack left to hit the Trash Heap Pokemon with. Roxie ordered a dodge regardless of the resisted attack.

"Push yourself upwards!" Roxie cried out. Garbodor used its pipe-like arms as balancing poles as it lifted itself high into the air and over Meganium's attack. " **Hyper Beam** , go!"

Garbodor quickly began to charge the familiar beam of radiating colors, causing Ash's eyes to narrow.

"Pull the arms out from under it, Meganium! **Vine Whip**!" He commanded.

Meganium released a cry of determination, sending out her vines once more. Each vine wrapped around one arm as Meganium gave them a mighty tug, pulling the poison-types appendages out from under it and causing it to begin to fall backwards, releasing the **Hyper Beam** in a panic towards the ceiling.

"Great, now hit it with an **Earthquake**!" Ash continued, not giving Roxie a chance to counter attack.

Meganium switched effortlessly into shaking the ground vigorously; damaging Garbodor even more upon impact to the ground. Once the dust settled again, Garbodor shakily stood up to glare at the Herb Pokemon, who smirked back. Their trainers mirrored them.

" **Sludge Bomb** , go!" Roxie ordered.

Ash didn't want to repeat the same tactic twice in a row; he knew Roxie was trying to figure out an opening in their attack pattern. It was a game he knew very well, only he was rarely on this side of it. So, he decided to switch it up a little.

"Knock them away with **Vine Whip**!" Ash cried. He could see the twitch of Roxie's eye that signified that that wasn't the counter she had been expecting, but the twitch of her lip said she found a different ploy entirely.

As Meganium's vines did their best to knock away the globs of brown poison, Roxie noticed there seemed to be very little protection going on towards Meganium's chest; most of the vines were out, flanking the sides. If she got a hit there with her favorite move, the rest of this match would be set.

"Alright Garbodor, more **Sludge Bombs**! Spread them out better!" She ordered. Garbodor nodded, firing more over a greater distance a barrage was heading towards the challengers side of the field.

"Add more vines, go!" Ash tried. Most of his Pokemon that knew **Vine Whip** knew the technique of adding more vines in their attack, a variation that got easier the stronger the Pokemon got. True to Ash's word two more vines came from behind Meganium's flower petals in an effort to better hold off the poison-type barrage.

It wasn't until Roxie's next command that Ash saw what her game was.

"Spray a **Toxic** , Garbodor! Now!" She cried enthusiastically.

" **Magic Coat** , quick!" Ash ordered hastily.

Meganium erected a pane of glass before her that glowed pink with energy while she struggled to maintain both the **Magic Coat** as well as the **Vine Whip** attack. Garbodor's **Toxic** sprayed at her rapidly from the hand not occupied by shooting **Sludge Bomb** 's, the thick purple goop landing harmlessly on the reflective surface. If Garbodor weren't immune to being poisoned, it would've bounced off the normally entirely reflective surface.

"You think quick." Roxie complimented. "We like that in our challengers."

"You made me think quick," Ash retorted. "We like that in our challenges."

They smirked at each other once more, both pairs of eyes roaming the field and assessing the Pokemon in battle. Ash scanned the room nervously, he knew that Meganium could win, he just didn't know how.

"I've gotta get that thing to stand still for Meganium to land a good attack. But, how?" Ash muttered to himself.

" _Garbodor's arms are it's main way of maneuvering, for starters. So, if you keep the arms busy…"_ Raichu started, looking up at Ash, who grinned down to finish the thought.

"Garbodor can't go anywhere! Raichu, you're a genius." Ash complimented. Roxie looked on from the other side of the field, confused, as Ash seemed to put a plan together.

"Meganium, power-up an **Energy Ball**!" Ash commanded.

"Hit them with **Double Slap** , Garbodor!" Roxie countered excitedly.

Before Garbodor's arms could even make it that far, Meganium's **Energy Ball** was charged. But Ash's next order wasn't to fire it as expected.

"Swallow that attack and block with **Vine Whip**!" He cried.

Roxie gasped in shock as Meganium _ate_ the **Energy Ball** without hesitation, causing the white frills on the flowers around her neck to begin to glow a dark, murky green color to indicate what seemed to be a power boost. Before Garbodor's arms had time to strike the starter Pokemon, more vines extended and they seemed longer than before, perfectly adept and capable enough of keeping the piped appendages at bay.

"Retreat and use **Sludge**!" Roxie tried to change her strategies, but Ash wouldn't let her.

"Don't let it retract its arms, hold them up!" Ash ordered.

Meganium's newly strengthened vines reached out to grab and wrap around Garbodor's arms while they were trying to retreat back to its side and succeeded in lifting them skyward, engaging in a battle that extended almost to the ceiling. Garbodor repeatedly tried to pull its arms free of Meganium's grasp but the vines clung too tight, keeping all the whips locked in an almost aerial duel.

"Fire your **Sludge** attack!" Roxie called confidently. Ash's smirk made the tone fall flat.

" **Solar Beam**!" Ash ordered.

Roxie smirked, knowing that **Solar Beam** took time to charge up unless used in intense sun. Had her challenger forgotten? Somehow she doubted it, judging by the way the battle had gone so far she was almost sure he had a plan. She just wasn't sure what it was yet.

She soon found out, however, when Meganium's **Solar Beam** fired instantly, more intense than it had any right to be, being indoors, without proper charge time or a boost form **Sunny Day**. Roxie did note that the green glow from the edges of Meganium's flowers seemed to disappear, leaving their proper white color behind after the **Solar Beam** was fired. Suddenly, it clicked, but it was too late.

Meganium's **Solar Beam** tore through Garbodor's **Sludge** attack and continued on with enough strength to throw the Trash Heap Pokemon rocketing backwards, its arms finally being released from Meganium's vines in time to be sent crashing into the wall behind it.

"Using your own attack to power up while at the same time using that power up as a make-shift accelerant for your **Solar Beam** attack? Raidyn, your something else." Roxie muttered loud enough that Ash could hear from across the field.

Ash and Raichu smirked nervously at each other before turning to Roxie.

"Thanks Roxie, it's actually something we picked up a long time ago, on accident of all things." Ash explained, sweat dropping a bit. Roxie seemed not to mind the unorthodox way of just stumbling upon such a strategy as she laughed it off.

"Well color me impressed. That's quite the strategy to just accidentally discover, don't you think?" Roxie teased good-naturally. Ash only chuckled and shrugged a bit. "Even so, we're not done yet, right Garbodor?"

Garbodor, meanwhile, had pushed itself back to its feet to stand and glare angrily at Meganium, ready to continue fighting.

" **Sludge Bomb**!" Roxie commanded.

"Hold it back with **Seed Bomb**!" Ash countered.

Just before the two barrages of attacks met, Roxie ordered another move in a change of plans.

" **Venoshock** , quickly!" She ordered.

The globs of sludge met the yellow seeds just in time to be mostly cancelled out, leaving the thick green goop Garbodor sprayed afterward free to head towards Meganium, landing a direct hit to her chest, surprising Ash as his Johto starter cried out in pain. Ash clicked his tongue.

"Lucky shot." He muttered before regaining his thoughts. 'I've got to keep its arms busy. Its arms are how it blocks attacks, dodges attacks and its main way of firing back at us. But the only time its arms are useless is…' Ash's thoughts led him to smirk, confusing Roxie yet again.

"What are you planning?" She asked herself, unsure. Her only reply came in the form of a full-blown grin.

"You'll see. Meganium, **Seed Bomb** on the field in every direction!" Ash cried out suddenly.

Once more Roxie and Garbodor could only stare in shock at first as their challenger put to work another unusual strategy. Meganium spat out more yellow seeds that glowed a vibrant green, this time the barrage of seeds only made contact with the ground beneath the battling Pokemon themselves, creating several holes and crevasses on the field. When they started to get uncomfortably close to Garbodor, Roxie decided to act.

"Spring upwards, again! Get away from those seeds!" She cried out urgently. Garbodor pushed itself upward again using its long arms, moving itself out of reach of Meganium's grass attack.

"Perfect, now shake 'em up with an **Earthquake**!" Ash transitioned.

Meganium didn't waste a second, cancelling the seed attack in favor of causing tremors across the field once more. The damage cause by the shaking ground was minimal to Garbodor up in the air, but it did plenty to throw the Trash Heap Pokemon off balance. Roxie tried to order for it to stabilize itself, it was a difficult task with the earth shaking and the holes scattered around the field underneath Garbodor.

"Try and fire a **Hyper Beam** , Garbodor!" Roxie cried out in alarm.

It wasn't the ideal attack, but it was the only one in the situation that Garbodor could perform under the circumstances. Both of its arms were busy and Garbodor's main way of launching attacks. Using one now would leave Garbodor flailing down into the ground, taking damage from the fall and the super effective attack. So, **Hyper Beam** would have to do.

Unfortunately for Roxie and Garbodor, that was what Ash was hoping for.

"Block that with an **Energy Ball**!" He ordered excitedly. Almost there, he reminded himself.

Garbodor shot the multi-color beam attack flawlessly this time, the powerful normal-type attack rocketing towards the still Meganium. Using an **Energy Ball** as defense once more, the **Hyper Beam** struck the ball of energy head on, breaking apart on impact and moving around the sphere to keep going into the ground. Roxie gasped at the impressive display of strength.

The attack was powerful all right, but Meganium's **Energy Ball** held up until the normal attack fizzled out, even if it was a tiny ball by the end of it. That didn't matter to Ash though, as usual, because he had another plan.

"Let it go, Meganium and finish it with **Grass Pledge**!" Ash called, enthused.

Meganium's Energy Ball disappeared from her mouth as she stomped one of her front legs on the ground, causing pillars of wind and leaves to shoot up from the ground in a blazing trail heading rapidly towards Garbodor, who had yet to descent from its elevated state. Upon reaching the base of Garbodor's arms, the pillars split and surrounded the poison-type in many individual leafy pillars before they condensed into one larger and more powerful one, fully engulfing the Trash Heap Pokemon in them.

Roxie could only cry out in worry at her Pokemon's pained cries that came from the tornado of leaves as Ash and Meganium looked on smugly. Soon enough, the attack died down and all the leaves fell to the ground, Garbodor following them soon. It took the judge hardly any time to assess the situation.

"Garbodor is unable to battle, Meganium is the winner! Since Leader Roxie has no more Pokemon fit for battle, the challenger of the match, Raidyn Stark, is the winner!" The ref announced, raising a flag in Ash's direction.

"Garbodor, you rocked just like always. Take five, okay?" Roxie admired her Pokemon's hard work.

"Meganium you did it! You were really great out there, you know?" Ash said, running up and hugging Meganium around her neck. She nuzzled him back gently, shaking Raichu's paw with her vine.

"Take a breather for now, 'kay? We'll see you later at lunch." Ash continued, returning his affectionate starter to her Pokeball. "That was a really great battle, Roxie. We learned a lot from it."

"Believe me, it was our pleasure. We learned a few things too, didn't we Billy?" Roxie acknowledged, turning to the ref who replied with a curt nod. "It's been a long time since I've seen someone figure out how to use one attack in so many ways, you've got real talent."

Ash smiled as he shook Roxie's hand in farewell, Raichu leaping onto his shoulder as they released each other's hands. Ash didn't miss the flash of confusion in Roxie's eyes at the action, but he was grateful that she didn't seem to put the pieces together. Instead, she continued talking.

"Cheren mentioned that you weren't collecting badges either, I'll spare you the trouble of giving you one. You probably wouldn't have a case anyway, right? Anyway, good luck on your journey. You'll need it too, by now I'm sure Cheren's told the whole Unova region about you." Roxie babbled. She was more rattled than he thought, Ash noticed.

"Yes well, that makes it more fun for me then, doesn't it? Besides, saves me the trouble of explaining myself every two days." Ash quipped, earning a small chuckle. "We'd better get going, we have a schedule to keep. Maybe we'll battle again in the Champion's League." He finished, turning to leave with one final wave thrown back at the poison-type Gym Leader.

"You bet, but don't think you can win twice." Roxie replied, waving back.

Finally, with that Ash turned to exit through the doors. He and Raichu quickly made their way back around to the Pokemon Center, handing over the Pokeballs of Donphan, Muk and Meganium to be fully healed before they pressed on in their journey.

"That was a whole lot tougher than our battle the other day, bud. I was worried for a while there." Ash told his starter as they sat on the couch in the center's lobby, waiting for their comrades to be returned.

" _Yeah, but I guess we should've expected as much. Roxie was always one of the toughest Gym Leaders in Unova. Figures she'd be harder to beat than Cheren."_ Raichu acknowledged. _"Although, if I were to battle her-"_

"Yeah, yeah, you'd have won no problem, we'd have been out of there a lot sooner, blah, blah, blah. You said all this already. I told you, it's not a race anymore. We have our badges back, there's no reason to breeze through this." Ash said sternly. Raichu let out a sigh.

" _Whatever you say."_ He grumbled. His grumbling was cut short by the call of Nurse Joy from behind the desk.

"Raidyn, your Pokemon are completely healed and ready to go!" Joy called to him.

Ash quickly stood and walked over to the nurse, Raichu keeping up at his heels until they came to a stop before her, Ash picking the three pokeballs off the try with an easy smile.

"Thanks a bunch, Nurse Joy. We really appreciate your help." Ash said gratefully, nodding his head in appreciation at the nurse.

"It's no problem, honest. It is my job, after all. You have a good day, now, and good luck on your travels!" Joy replied.

Ash nodded his thanks once again before turning to leave, sticking his arm out so his orange friend could get balanced faster upon leaping to his shoulder. Together, the duo made their way out of Virbank City's Pokemon Center and headed north into the fields that surrounded the city for a nice team lunch, featuring all of the gang.

* * *

 **One more chapter up and finished!**

 **Sorry for the long wait but I've been incredibly busy preparing for my first semester of college where I will be living on campus! And I had summer homework too so that's always a drag, but most of that's taken care of now and I move in next week, so hopefully once adjusted updates will go back to being closer together. Even if not, rest assured I don't want to give up or drop this story on you guys!**

 **What did you guys think about this battle? I said some would be a lot closer than others and Roxie struck me as just the kind of person to showcase this, being one of the strongest and confident gym leaders out there. Sorry if you didn't like every part, there was a few other alternative ways I had in mind but this was the one I liked the most, even if it was the hardest to write. So let me know your favorite (or least favorite) part so I can try to recreate (or avoid) it again later.**

 **Now, onto your reviews!**

* * *

 **NatNicole:** _ **Thank you so much! I wanted to give them some attention too, just because the story is Ash-centric doesn't make other characters not important.**_

 **Skitty4:** _ **Your kind words are appreciated and your hopes have been granted**_

 **Flitty:** _ **Here you go, sir! Sorry Raichu didn't see much spotlight in this one but rest assured, his OP-ness will be showcased.**_

 **Mohit333Sharma:** _ **I'm still debating. Ash will definitely not mega evolve Pokemon that don't have already canon megas, nor will all of his Pokemon with mega potential become megas. Maybe one or two, but I'd imagine certain ones (Charizard for example) would be able to fight on par with them even without mega evolving them. So, we'll see.**_

 **Ayush:** _ **Thanks so much for giving your thoughts; I'm glad that you enjoy my story and my writing style. As a fellow author I'm sure you know how much it helps to hear that you're doing something right. The deadline idea is quite a good one, I'll definitely try to do that and keep up with it as frequently as I can. If you guys are interested, the dates I hope to update will be on my profile from now on, but don't be too disappointed if they change, okay?**_

 _ **I like all of these ideas so much, oh no! I don't think he'll get Metagross, Zoroark, Sylveon, Lucario or Mawile, but you never know. I was toying with Hippowdon myself so maybe, but as of now he'll definitely have Steelix and Gardevoir. I also really like the idea of trading some Tauros for more rare Pokemon like starters, so maybe that'll come up too. On the shipping front, Rayshipping is almost certainly endgame at this point but Ability or Othello might have a spot in the limelight too, and don't worry the harem idea is already thrown out the window. Affairs too, I wouldn't want that to play any part in the story. Thanks for the great ideas!**_

 **Rikudo Ingeel:** _ **Considering that it's canon that upon evolution, huge jumps in level are achieved, many times high enough to easily dispatch opponents that were completely and utterly overpowering them prior, I don't think so. Pikachu was legendary caliber as well and he wasn't 'somewhere in the top ten', at the lowest he was 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **(which I admit I should have made clearer, my apologies) so I don't think it's too big of a jump in power at all.**_

 **Kurakuma:** _ **I was thinking sisterly as well, like I said before I like her too much to not make her more than a cameo appearance.**_

 **Ominous Enigma:** _ **Your interest is appreciated!**_

 **ProcrastinationIsMyCrime:** _ **Thanks! That was definitely one of the parts I was most skeptical about, evolving or changing Pikachu's role is always so hard to do and I'm glad I managed to do it appropriately in your eyes. Garchomp should be the strongest logically, yes, but remember that in the anime (and FanFiction) we play by different rules.**_

 _ **As for Mewtwo's involvement, don't worry! He'll reappear again soon enough. He was NOT just an ex-machina for Ash to survive his encounter with Team Flare and will contribute more to the story than teleporting Ash away. And Richie is, honestly, someone I never considered bringing back. But now that you've brought him to my attention… probably, yeah, he'll be back.**_

 _ **And why they want Ash? Well, it'll become clear later.**_

 _ **Vital Info: My feelings exactly, at this point Ash can pretty much only see aura as well as having enough control to connect his aura with his Pokemon (which was done subconsciously due to the immense bond they share) in order to perfectly communicate with them. Other than that, he can't really do much.**_

 _ **Like previously stated, just because the story is Ash-centric doesn't make other characters not important. Gary and Paul are two of the biggest characters outside of Ash and Raichu. Keeping up with them will be routine and I'm glad that you enjoy seeing them.**_

 _ **That bit was important to me too, I really wanted to give more of Ash's Pokemon personality outside of Raichu and Charizard (who have had the most canon development except possibly Infernape) but I figured they would be a good place to start.**_

* * *

 **That's all for now! As always leave your thoughts and opinions behind in the reviews or PM me if you want to talk about something more privately or extensively, I do my best to answer both! I'll catch you guys hopefully soon with the next chapter!**


	7. Catching Up

A Hero's Rebirth

Chapter Seven: Catching Up

* * *

Paul grumbled to himself as he hiked down Route 208. He was exiting Hearthome City, heading over towards Eterna City on a mission. He had made excellent time, only staying in Hearthome for the night after his run in with those two clowns outside of Solaceon who thought that there was a chance in hell Giovanni was innocent.

He was still scoffing to himself over the encounter.

Sure, Ash may have panicked and mumbled his alias. Sure, the news crew may have adapted it into an unconvincing and unrevealing 'newsworthy' title. And sure, nobody had corrected them. But dammit, they shouldn't need a character witness with all the information he and Ash had and handed over to the police on the mob boss.

He needed to find a way to alert Ash about this, which was easier said than done since he had absolutely no idea where the raven-haired trainer had vanished. Really his only shot now was to wait for the three buffoons to get back to him. The purple haired man sighed in frustration as he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets again; despite the unusually nice weather today he was reluctant to go without it.

Paul began to make his way across the wooden bridge suspended above the rapids below when shouting grabbed his attention.

"Now, Fern use **Seed Bomb**!" A voice yelled.

Paul turned to the direction the shout came from in time to see a Cradily launch an array of yellow seeds at a Whiscash that was mid-jump. The purple-haired trainer assumed the battle was to capture the Whiscash, as he noticed only one trainer behind the Cradily and it seemed the dual water/ground-type was eager to hop back into the stream.

The trainer commanding Cradily was in a tracksuit, majority green but with mixes of yellow. His cap was predominantly blue with a yellow bar stretching across it just above the brim, shaggy auburn colored hair sticking out in all directions. Paul looked on, intrigued, when he noticed a Pikachu sitting by the guy's foot.

" **Protect** , quickly, and use **Giga Drain**!" The trainer ordered hurriedly.

The Whiscash had thrown an **Ancient Power** at the fossil Pokemon, damage it seemed the auburn-haired man was desperate to avoid. Cradily threw up a barrier, the glowing rocks bouncing harmlessly off and into the river as giant green tendrils reached from the antenna on the Barnacle Pokemon's head to wrap around Whiscash's body, beginning to drain its health.

When the attack ended, Whiscash was dropped to the ground and Paul was ready to walk away. The battle should have been over at that point. Only, the Whiscash flopped up again, backwards, and fired out a surprise **Ice Beam**. The ice-type attack struck Cradily's midsection, sending it flying backwards and into a rock wall.

Paul's eyes narrowed.

"Whoa, you're a tough one, aren't you? We like tough guys." The trainer quipped. " **Brine** attack!"

Cradily straightened out, firing out a powerful stream of water from its mouth straight towards its opponent that seemed to smirk back. Suddenly, the water seemed to gather on Whiscash's end of the field, moving directly under it to propel it up and forwards on a huge wave, much to the shock of the trainer in green.

"A **Surf** attack? How do we stop that?" He asked himself worriedly as the **Surf** broke straight through the **Brine**. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "Fern, root yourself! Use **Ingrain**!"

Cradily acted, rooting itself into the soil with small vines as the wave of water was soon upon it. Paul thought the idea was stupid at first, but it wasn't over.

" **Energy Ball** , straight up!" He cried.

Cradily, already facing back and looking up due to the force of the **Surf** was in the perfect position to launch a quick **Energy Ball** timed perfectly with Whiscash's passing over its head. The grass-type attack plowed through the wave to strike Whiscash directly on its stomach, sending it flying upwards before its quick descent started.

"Pokeball, go!" The trainer cried, tossing a Luxury Ball at the weakened water-type.

The sphere made contact, easily converting the large fish into energy and closing up, shaking only once before pinging, signifying a successful capture. The boy in the tracksuit ran to the 'ball immediately, inspecting the outside before sticking a sticker to it, clipping it to his belt and turning to Cradily, only just noticing Paul's presence.

"Oh, hey! I'm Ritchie, who are you? Did you like that battle? Whiscash sure was tough." The trainer, identified as Ritchie, asked.

"Name's Paul." Paul responded simply before grunting. "It wasn't bad, but it shouldn't have taken so long. Is your Cradily that weak that it couldn't take out Whiscash with that first **Giga Drain** , a move Whiscash is doubly weak to?"

Ritchie glared up at Paul, who was still suspended on the wooden bridge while talking down to him (both literally and figuratively), while he recalled Cradily.

"Whiscash was just really strong, that's all. I caught it, didn't I?" Ritchie remarked. Paul huffed again.

"Barely. Your plan to stay rooted with **Ingrain** was stupid and let Cradily take unneeded damage. Using **Ingrain** to soak up the water around it and gain health at the same time weakening the **Surf** would've been a better play." Paul told him.

"Can **Ingrain** even be used like that?" Ritchie mumbled to himself, moving to pack up his bag. He folded up his fishing rod and placed it and the tackle box into his bag.

"Why not? Essentially the same thing as using it on land, it takes nutrients out of the soil. I don't see why it couldn't soak up water too." Paul lectured. Ritchie only glared back, slinging his bag over his shoulder as Sparky hopped up.

"If you're so smart why don't you prove it? Come down here and battle me!" Ritchie called. Paul smirked.

"Two-on-two`?" Paul asked. Ritchie nodded heatedly as Paul made his way back around and down the cliff-side, Pokeball in hand. "Bring it on." Paul challenged, tossing up his Pokeball.

* * *

"That sure was a good lunch, huh guys? It's been a few days since we've eaten together like that." Ash noted, relaxing on the ground.

His friends were scattered about, most lazing around themselves except a select few. Raichu played tag with Glalie, Scrafty and Espeon while Meganium patiently tried to teach Gardevoir **Energy Ball**. Meanwhile, Torterra sat contently, letting the nearby wild Pokemon run and play on his back. Everyone, however, found time to answer Ash in the affirmative.

"You guys have done great, you know. We've really gotten a lot stronger these past few years, and we'll only continue to do so. I'm happy you guys are here with me." Ash told them, sitting up and looking out at them.

" _We're all happy to be here with you too, Ash. You're our best friend."_ Infernape said from leaning against Torterra.

"We really should get moving soon." Ash mumbled to himself, looking up at the sky. It was late in the day. Then he turned his attention back out to his friends who were perfectly content, sitting and playing as long as they were together.

"Well, maybe another few minutes couldn't hurt." He decided, laying his head back down to the ground. It didn't take long for him to drift off to sleep.

* * *

Gary tapped away at his keyboard; eyes squinted as he hunched forward to stare harder into the computer screen. The sound of tapping and clicking echoed throughout the otherwise silent room along with the occasional shift in Gary's position on the rolling chair. Anyone else would have said the screen was intensely bright, but Gary's eyes had already been dulled to the shine, now vaguely registering anything past the text scrolling around the screen.

He was almost finished helping Ash out a bit. He wasn't fibbing when he mentioned fudging some records. League placements weren't the requirement for the league, but it would seem weird if someone just turned up out of the blue, qualified for something as large as the Champion's League with no prior footprint whatsoever.

Besides, he wasn't making it look like Raidyn Stark was the six-time winner of four region exclusive leagues or anything. Small things here and there, winner of local tournaments, active participant in the Battle Clubs, things like that thrown in with mediocre league placements. Top 16 in the Silver Conference a few years back, anyone?

Smirking to himself, Gary typed up the last of the fake records. It wasn't much, only enough to make Raidyn Stark more than a shadowy name and a nobody springing up for the Champion's League. Even if Ash only showed up to get eliminated in the first round, it was better safe than sorry. On the flip side, if Gary knew Ash, and he did, he was sure that Ash would make if far past the first round.

"That wraps her up." Gary mumbled to himself, turning left in his swivel chair to take his cup of coffee from the machine and glancing over at the clock. "4pm, huh? I guess I overdid it a little, I missed lunch."

Gary stood from his chair, clutching his coffee and ignoring the different colored spots he was seeing everywhere after staring at his computer for so long and headed for the door, descending down the stairs to his grandpa's lab. Sure enough, Oak and Tracey were hard at work.

"Whatcha guys doing?" Gary asked them. Tracey looked up from flipping through his notes to acknowledge Gary's arrival while Oak muttered something in reply. Noticing that Gary still didn't understand, Tracey repeated.

"We're attempting to find the next Pokemon capable of mega evolution. It's a technique we're only just beginning to understand and new mega forms have already been found since the first discovery. We were hoping to discover a few ourselves." Tracey informed him. Gary nodded.

"I would study the Hoenn region more closely then, if that's the case. Back when I was over there with Professor Birch it seemed like we found new mega forms every week." Gary advised.

Oak clumsily dropped his book in favor of another book Gary recognized from the cover, a book about Hoenn's geography. Gary smiled at his grandfathers' eagerness, although he couldn't help but be shocked. He didn't understand why his grandfather's interest in mega evolution seemed to spike.

"If I may, gramps, why the sudden intense interest in Mega Evolution?" Gary asked, unsure.

"Birch and Steven Stone recently discovered that Rayquaza, the legendary Pokemon that has the ability to stop fights between Groudon and Kyogre, doesn't need a mega-stone to Mega Evolve. Instead, it only needs to know a single attack. If Rayquaza is an exception to this rule, who knows what other exceptions there are?" Oak ranted. "Even similar things, such as Primal Reversion and the Bond Phenomenon don't seem to have alternate methods."

Gary's interest was now piqued.

"Well, what are we waiting for, I'll go get my notes. Tracey grab your bag and gramps start the car, we're heading out into Viridian Forest for a field trip!" Gary ordered, darting back up the stairs.

Although confused, they both did as told. Tracey dumped a few important books into his sling-on bag along with a sketchbook as he stacked a few last papers up on the desk while Oak removed the set of keys from the desk drawer. The three researchers converged at the front door, eagerly exiting the Lab and leaving the door to slam loudly shut.

* * *

"Cruise, I choose you!" Ritchie called, tossing up his first Pokeball to reveal an intimidating Tyranitar, towering over both Ritchie and Paul, who seemed unimpressed.

"You nickname your Pokemon? That's pathetic." Paul noted to himself, letting his own Pokeball open to reveal his Electivire. "Stand by." He said to it, the yellow creature nodding in return.

Tyranitar's Sand Stream ability started immediately, sand being thrown up in Paul and Electivire's faces. Paul glared, knowing that would be annoying unless he found some way to negate the effects.

"You have the first move." Paul insisted. Ritchie glared harder.

"Cruise, **Crunch** 'em!" He ordered. Tyranitar charged, its teeth glowing white as it ran and attempted to bite down on Electivire's tail, only Paul was quick to react.

"Knock it away with **ThunderPunch**." Paul commanded.

Electivire wasted no time powering up electricity in its fist, quickly delivering a blow to the side of Tyranitar's head and sending it stumbling to the side, much to Ritchie's surprise. Electivire smirked over at the pseudo-legendary as it shook its head vigorously as if to negate the damage.

"Try again, Cruise, **Crunch**!" Ritchie said, smirking this time. Tyranitar charged again, teeth ready to bite into Electivire until Paul once again countered.

"Nice try, Electivire, **Low Kick** it." He ordered harshly.

Ritchie let out an audible gasp as Electivire kneeled to the ground and swept at Tyranitar's legs with its tails, putting it further off balance. It was already going top-heavy, leaning in to deal damage with **Crunch** , and getting its feet kicked backward made the dual-type face plant into the ground.

"You think I didn't know that you found an opening? You were going to have Tyranitar transition into another attack right after missing **Crunch** , right?" Paul guessed. Ritchie blanched.

"How did you-" He started, both angry and impressed.

"I saw the opening too, like any good trainer would have. If it was noticeable enough that you, a completely new opponent, picked up on it right away, it would surely be noticeable to me too, Electivire's trainer." Paul lectured. "Assuming that I didn't know was a stupid mistake on your part."

"Maybe so, but we're not out yet, right Cruise?" Ritchie grit his teeth as he responded. Tyranitar straightened back out and stood to its full height to roar in agreement. "Now, **Stone Edge**!"

Tyranitar roared and hit the ground hard, causing giant blue pillars of rock to emerge in a straight line, right towards Paul's electric-type. Once again, Paul was quick to counter.

" **Thunder** , break right through them." Came the order.

Ritchie scoffed, doubtful that an electric attack could break through all of the rocks Cruise created. He grew increasingly worried as Electivire wound up its arms very quickly and fired out a brilliant bolt of yellow lightening that met with a rock barely above the ground only two meters from Electivire's face, only for the rock to be disintegrated like sand. One by one, the rocks were pulverized by Electivire's **Thunder** attack until it broke the last of them to strike Tyranitar's chest, throwing it back far enough to hit the mountain wall.

Outwardly, Paul smirked. Inwardly, he was thanking Ash and Pikachu for both the idea to counter a **Stone Edge** that way and for helping perfect their technique. Ash realized that **Stone Edge** as an attack behaved strangely; while it was a rock type attack, it required stones to be called from underneath the ground. If you hit it at the source, it would not only stop a single rock from forming but could continue on, jumping to the part of the other already formed rocks under the earth.

Of course, that part only applied to certain attacks. Like, say, ones involving electricity jumping from rock to rock, destroying them from their point of origin. Because of the way attacks like **Thunder** and **ThunderBolt** worked, it was easy to aim at the ground moving forward while still moving up to aim at an opponent.

" **Earthquake** , now!" Ritchie yelled desperately.

Tyranitar's eyes narrowed before it began to rapidly shake the ground, causing Electivire enough damage to the point where it stopped its seemingly endless attack and allow Tyranitar a chance to stand back up to its full height. Paul's eyes narrowed, knowing that a powerful attack like **Earthquake** was nothing to take lightly.

"Stand strong and wait for my call." Paul encouraged, watching as Electivire's resolve steeled and it stood up straighter, refusing to kneel to the super-effective attack.

After the tremors stopped, Ritchie was amazed that Electivire's stance hadn't faltered.

"It's so strong." He muttered to himself, gazing at it before shifting his focus to Cruise. "Use **Screech**!"

Tyranitar's maw opened as it jerked its head towards Electivire, releasing an ear-piercing sound-wave racing towards the electric-type. Electivire was noticeably shaken by the attack, shaking its head vigorously back and forth in order to gather its thoughts together. Ritchie wouldn't give it time to pull itself together, again, though, before ordering another attack.

" **Crunch** , once more!" He ordered, launching his arm out towards his opponent. Tyranitar responded accordingly, charging the Sinnoh-natives with its teeth glowing white once more, intent on chomping down on the electric-type's body,

" **Brick Break** , knock it to the ground." Paul retorted calmly, a plan formulating.

He smirked when Electivire's glowing hand struck Tyranitar's skull just before the jaws could make contact with the ThunderBolt Pokemon. The fighting-type attack forced Tyranitar's body down towards the ground, right where Paul wanted it for his next attack.

"Don't stop, hit it with **Low Kick** again." He continued. Electivire wasted no time in sending its tails out again, using them to throw the pseudo-legendary backwards by a great distance with their brute strength. Paul only let the dual-type skid to a stop a few meters away before continuing his assault. "Finish it with **Thunder**."

Spinning its arms rapidly once more, Electivire let loose a bolt of brilliant yellow electricity that arched over and struck Tyranitar straight on the back while it was already practically eating dirt. The force of the **Thunder** only served to embed the green behemoth into the rocky ground beneath them, kicking up sand and dust in the process. Although the debris did nothing to hide the end result, as even when it cleared neither of the trainers were surprised when Cruise lie still, swirls in its eyes.

"Your Tyranitar is unable to continue battling, that makes my Electivire the winner." Paul noted curtly.

Ritchie returned Cruise with some reluctance and regret, wondering just what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

In a field somewhere, Ash Ketchum sat up with a large yawn and groan. The Pallet Town native stretched his arms out wide and tall in an attempt to wake up his body from the spectacular nap he had just had. From his sitting position he could still see a large number of his Pokemon, some up and about still while others seemed to have gone down for naps of their own.

Standing up completely, Ash stretched to get the kinks out of his back before reaching into his pocket for his Pokedex to check the time. He was pleasantly surprised to find that he had only slept for about two hours, with it being just past four thirty in the afternoon now.

"If we're lucky we can battle Burgh with enough time left to have a late dinner." Ash mused to himself before setting out to recall all of his Pokemon back to their respective Pokeballs. "Charizard, we're gonna fly on Pidgeot this time. Rest up, okay?" He explained, waiting to hear his lizard grunt in reply before returning him.

Pidgeot leaned forward, preparing for Ash and Raichu to mount her back. Without hesitation, the Kanto duo leaped on with grins on their faces.

"Pidgeot, Castelia City, please!" Ash ordered.

Pidgeot chirped happily before rocketing away from a still position with such force it jostled her passengers back a bit. They both recovered swiftly enough, exchanging grins with one another before cheering her on.

At this rate they could even beat the ferry to Castelia City!

* * *

"Why did you bring us all the way out here, Gary?" Tracey asked, stepping carefully.

Gary had brought them out to Viridian Forest in order to do some field research like he used to do with Professor Birch back in the Hoenn region, but neither Tracey nor Oak had any idea what they were looking for.

"We're going to discover some new mega evolutions of course." Gary said confidently. Tracey and Oak shared a glance at one another before Oak spoke again.

"How exactly are we going to do that?" Oak questioned his grandson, who smirked back in response.

"Just like Professor Birch and I did back in Hoenn. First, we got a species in mind that we theorized could have the potential to mega-evolve. Before I left, Fearow was one of the strongest contenders we had so that's what we're going to use." Gary began to explain. "It helps a lot that we live close to a natural Fearow habitat so it's easy for us to look around."

"Okay, but what are we looking for? Is there something specific?" Tracey asked.

"Sort of. See how each Pokemon capable of mega evolution has a species-specific mega stone? Birch and I had a theory that environments played a role in creating those stones, just like how they play a role in housing the species themselves." Gary explained. Oak's eyes widened.

"Of course! If there's something in the environment that the Pokemon as a species need, it stands to reason the species-specific mega stone should be nearby! Gary, you're brilliant!" Oak hollered excitedly. "Because Fearow thrive in Viridian Forest, their mega stone should be found here as well if they do indeed have the potential to evolve further."

Gary nodded.

"We need to look everywhere, though. Even fragments of mega stones can point towards which species it's specific too. And it's no guarantee, either. We might be searching for literal fragments of a stone that doesn't exist." The younger Oak pointed out.

Oak and Tracey nodded. They both knew the extent of the needle they were trying to find in the haystack now. Regardless, they were willing to put in the hours of combing the nearby forest if it meant discovering a new Pokemon species with the ability to mega-evolve.

* * *

"Now, Zippo, I choose you!" Ritchie called, unleashing his next Pokemon.

In front of Ritchie landed a large, orange-scaled Charizard that roared to boost it's intimidation factor. Paul, however, had seen much worse. Ash's Charizard had been that size six years ago, and definitely much stronger than this one was. Electivire knew it too, as it vigorously waved its arms in circles again to collect electricity.

"I'll be staying with Electivire." Paul announced. Ritchie nodded. "You had the first move last time, we'll take it this time. Electivire, go for **Thunder**!"

Once more, a beam of brilliant yellow electricity arced towards Ritchie's Pokemon at high speeds. Charizard hardly had enough time to begin to dodge before it was struck with the powerful electric-type attack, fighting to keep from behind pushed back by the sheer force of it. Ritchie glared, gritting his teeth together before calling out to Zippo.

" **Metal Claw** , deflect it away!" The Kanto-native ordered.

Charizard's claws glowed a bright white, getting a metallic-shine to them before the fire-type moved them to be interlocked above his head, deflecting the rest of Electivire's attack behind it and towards the sky. Ritchie smirked as Paul frowned.

Paul, while he acknowledged the creativeness of the counter, was unimpressed. When you had watched Ash's Staraptor deflect **Shock Wave** 's from Team Rocket's Pokemon into the ground with **Steel Wing** , acting like a lightning rod to send the electricity back into the ground and let it pass harmlessly thorough Staraptor's body seeing a steel-type move like **Metal Claw** act as merely a deflector didn't hold up. Against an attack less electricity based it might make more sense, as not many other elemental attacks could be rendered useless in the safe fashion.

However, Paul thought, not every trainer battle could be as exciting as battling against Ash. On the other hand, Paul wondered just when he had begun comparing all of his battles to those he had with Ash. Probably since before the Sinnoh League, if he was being honest with himself.

"Pathetic. There's much more efficient ways of deflecting electric-based attacks that wouldn't have let your Pokemon take so much damage." Paul lectured. Ritchie glared.

"Oh yeah, like what?" He questioned indignantly. Paul rolled his eyes.

"I'm not going to spell everything out for you. Electivire, **Shock Wave**!" Paul continued his assault.

Electivire's arms spun around, gathering electricity once more. An orb of yellow electricity formed between the antennas on top of Electivire's head, shooting a zigzagging beam of pure electricity out towards Charizard. This time however, Ritchie acted fast enough.

"Climb, Zippo!" He cried. Zippo took to the air in the knick of time, the yellow bolt clipping its left wing during its ascent. However, despite Zippo's best attempt the beam seemed to turn around and home in on Zippo's back, forcing the dual-type back to the ground. "Oh no!" Ritchie wailed out, forgetting **Shock Wave** couldn't be dodged.

"Fight back with **Flamethrower**!" Ritchie continued, not giving Paul time to begin lecturing again.

Charizard let out a huge burst of fire from its mouth, the torrent of flames racing towards the ThunderBolt Pokemon.

"Split it with **ThunderPunch**." Paul instructed.

Electivire's fist crackled with yellow lightning as it punched forward, letting its arm appear like a giant, pointy yellow javelin. The front of Electivire's fist cut through the flames, splitting them up and sending them above or below the fist with the crackling electricity.

"Keep it up, Zippo! **Flare Blitz**!" Ritchie commanded.

Charizard immediately became cloaked in orange fire as it tucked its wings by its sides and took off like an orange-tinted bullet towards Electivire. Paul was prepared, pulling out an old favorite of his techniques.

" **Protect**." He ordered simply.

Almost instantaneously, a green-tinted barrier formed in a dome around Electivire's form, stopping only once it hit the ground at the electric-type's feet. Charizard made contact with the dome seconds later, managing only to push Electivire back some before the green barrier proved too strong and the fire surrounding it dissipated.

"Grab it and use **Thunder**." Paul's next direction came through.

Electivire's long tails reached around the front of its body so fast Charizard didn't have time to fall to the ground yet. Before Zippo could even fall properly, the black twin tails of Electivire were restricting its arms and thousands of volts of electricity were sent through its body. Ritchie called out to his starter Pokemon over its cries of anguish.

"Hang on, Zippo! Use **Fire Fang**!" Ritchie tried.

Flames began to emit from Zippo's wide-open mouth. Savagely, the fire-type swung its neck around until it came close enough to follow through with the fire-type attack, closing its flaming jaw around one of Electivire's twin tails. Electivire immediately recoiled the injured tail and stopped pumping out lightning. Paul decided to switch tactics.

"Switch back to **ThunderPunch** , both hands." Paul told his Pokemon.

With Charizard still held up, barely, by one tail, Electivire pummeled the dual-type Pokemon using its thunder-covered fists, over and over again. Finally, using its own judgment, the Sinnoh-native Pokemon released Charizard in time with a punch, sending the starter flying backwards by a few yards. Paul nodded his satisfaction when he noticed Electivire glace back towards him.

"Zippo, no! You've gotta get up! Get up and fight back with **Fire Blast**!" Ritchie cried, full of energy. Paul rolled his eyes.

" **Hammer Arm** , put a hole right through the center." Paul called.

Electivire's arms glowed white while one wound up to take a punch, jamming its fist right through the center of the oddly shaped fire-type attack, dispersing the flames entirely without their focal point. From there, it was easy enough for Electivire to shrug off the embers that were left of the once-powerful fire move and cancel out its **Hammer Arm** immediately after.

Ritchie gasped in shock, grunting in displeasure at the dismantlement of Zippo's most powerful attack while Paul smirked, seeing that he was beginning to truly frustrate Ritchie.

* * *

Gary ignored Tracey's wailing as they wandered deeper into Viridian Forest. He had split from both Tracey and his grandfather after they agreed that they could cover more ground by heading out in different directions. Unfortunately, it seemed that he still hadn't gotten far enough way to drown out Tracey.

A new sound broke him from his annoyance at the Pokemon Watcher. The sound of his phone ringing, which was, in all honesty, a rare occurrence. He barely glanced down at the caller ID as he took the call.

"Hello, Gary Oak speaking." Gary answered in his usual greeting style.

" _Prepare for trouble, far away!"_ Jessie's voice sang through the speakers. It wasn't alone.

" _Make it double, just for today!"_ James' answered her, singing as well. Gary broke in immediately.

"As interesting as it is to hear a new variation every time we talk, can you get to the point? I'm in the middle of research, here." Gary practically pleaded. He heard the three sigh in perfect unison.

" _If you insist. We need you to do us a favor."_ James started, letting Jessie take over.

" _We were wondering if you could tell us if there have been any reports of a one, Raidyn Stark anywhere in Hoenn or Unova?"_ Jessie asked, unsure.

They had talked a lot about the twerp since Paul asked for their help in tracking him down. Last they had seen him had been on his island home, but he had told them he may venture away on training in order to prepare for the Champion's League. The easiest way to check would probably be revisiting the island, but that would take another few days and, knowing the twerp, he could have been halfway around the world by then.

Plus, if he wasn't there then they would have practically wasted almost two weeks again. Instead, they decided to ask themselves what he would do if he had already left the island. The decision seemed to be unanimous that he would return to familiar ground. No, not familiar as in training or familiar as in recent; familiar as in people, battles, Pokemon.

Gyms.

It certainly made sense to them, especially seeing the large number of gym leaders the Pallet natives had befriended over the years. Only, they doubted he'd return to Kanto or Johto. Not yet, much too close to home. Too many people he was too close to for him to risk _that_ being the first place he showed up to post-triumphant return.

Sinnoh didn't seem likely, too much happened in Sinnoh to them all for it to be a walk down memory lane. The world had almost ended, Ash and Paul's fates were intertwined, and Champion Cynthia Shirona had practically become a close friend. No, Ash would wait before revisiting all of Sinnoh. Even during his years of solitude, Ash very rarely used any location in the Sinnoh Region as training grounds. Besides, the Champion's League was being held on Lily of the Valley Isle, why travel all that way now?

And Kalos just seemed to be _too_ recent. Jessie, James and Meowth remembered it well, and they didn't exactly think that Kalos would be the region Ash wanted to stomp his feet onto first after nearly half a decade hiding from civilization. Not after his attempted escape from the region so long ago.

So, thanks to their brilliant detective work, they narrowed it down to two places, being Hoenn or Unova. Of course, this was only provided Ash was indeed active in the regions; like entering tournaments or participating in club battles or challenging gyms as well as giving them the alias of Raidyn Stark. It was a long shot, all right, but it was the best they could hope for at the moment. If it didn't work, then they'd just have to put their heads together again and think of something better.

"Can I ask why?" Gary questioned them, but he pulled out a PDA regardless. Thankfully, he received somewhat of an answer.

"We think he might have left the island to train, but we- uh-" Meowth started, before James not so smoothly interrupted.

"Wanted to talk to him a bit more about what he's missed and we didn't get an exact location." The blue-haired man interjected. Gary could practically feel the trio (and Wobbuffet) nod together.

Gary, rather than acknowledging the trio's weirdness, focused on his search. He watched, interested, as a lot of data scrolled by, seemingly being deleted for it's irrelevance before he was left with but three articles.

The first was Raidyn Stark's Pokedex Registration, done by Professor Krane and last updated two and a half years ago due to… a technical malfunction?

The second was Raidyn Stark's Official Trainer Page, consisting of almost literally nothing but the records Gary had fudged himself a little while earlier. The only other things included there were place of birth (listed as Orre), an age (listed as 18) and a starter (listed as Charmander).

The last seemed to be what the Rocket's were looking for. It seemed that the Gym Leaders Association website had been updated recently to include the battle videos, which every gym was required by law to do. Among the many, many listed trainers to challenge gyms, very few made it anywhere and very the Association deemed few noteworthy. Only one in the last few months was flagged, and the file was created two days ago.

The trainer was Raidyn Stark.

Intrigued, Gary opened the file. In it, the website revealed that Ash had challenged two gyms since the day he had received Gary's letter, both in the Unova Region like Team Rocket suspected. His fellow Pallet native had successfully defeated the Aspertia City Gym and the Virbank City Gym already and, judging by what Cheren wrote under his comment section, it didn't seem like Ash was going to stop there.

Remembering the Trio was, in fact, not physically present, Gary knew he had to speak up.

"I got some hits on the name. His Pokedex and Trainer page come up as always, but the Gym Leaders Association flagged his name. That means he's out there challenging gyms now, and it looks like you guys were right; Unova. So far Both the Aspertia and Virbank Gyms have reported battling him." Gary relayed the information over.

" _Wonderful news, brainiac twerp. Exactly what we wanted to hear."_ Jessie told him excitedly. Gary couldn't help but grin into the phone.

"Yeah, well, when you see him tell him he better find me soon. He owes me both an explanation and a battle." Gary declared.

" _You got it, research twerp. We'll deliver the message."_ James told him hurriedly. _"Thanks for your help, we'll be in touch."_ With that, the line went silent and Gary sighed loudly.

Who would have though Team Rocket would be his one and only link to Ash these days, huh?

* * *

" **Thunder** -Dome, now." Paul ordered.

Electivire shot a **Thunder** attack straight up. It traveled a few yards before it shattered akin to a **Draco Meteor** , each bolt keeping form as it drove into the ground, forming a circle a few feet wide around the ThunderBolt Pokemon. The counter-attack was launched just in time to defend against a **Flame Burst** from all angles, since Paul knew **Flame Burst** had the added effect of damaging nearby Pokemon in battle.

Ritchie growled at the counter once more and Paul decided to have put his opponent out of his misery.

"Let's finish this Electivire. Change trajectory and launch **Thunder**." Paul said, shoving his hands into his pockets. Electivire nodded, forming all the golden arcs of electricity into a single bolt once more and hurling it towards the Kanto starter.

Neither Ritchie nor Zippo were expecting the dome to be able to shift _back_ into an attack and were caught terribly off guard. The resulting explosion kicked up a yet another dust cloud, but there was no mystery this time. Paul and Ritchie new the outcome of the match long before the dust had settled.

"Good work Electivire, steadily improving as always." Paul complimented his electric-type, who growled out his appreciation. Paul didn't bother to return him yet and instead let his eyes wander over to the other trainer, coddling his bruised and beaten Charizard.

Yes, Ash had made him see that Pokemon did benefit with kindness and positive reinforcement. Yes, Ash had made him see that he should be treating his Pokemon less like tools and more like teammates, like friends. But like hell that meant Paul thought _this_ level of that was okay. The boy before him now seemed to be even softer than Ash was back in Sinnoh.

At least, even back then, Ash had intrigued him. Ash had always pushed him, challenged his beliefs and refused to back down. Ash was single-handedly the most determined, stubborn and hot-headed trainer Paul had ever come across and how he also managed to double as the most kind hearted, open and caring trainer he had ever come across completely baffled him.

This trainer, however, did none of those things. Without so much as another word, Paul and Electivire turned to leave. They had a schedule to keep if they wanted to reach Oreburgh City by nightfall, and he had no more time to spare for any distractions.

He ignored the trainer, Ritchie's, cries of promises to meet again in favor of hiking back up to the bridge he stood on a short while ago and continuing on his path, Electivire walking patiently behind him.

Until his phone began to ring and he saw who was calling, Paul was certain he could get to Oreburgh City tonight. Now, though, he wasn't so sure as he answered Team Rocket's call.

* * *

 **Yet another chapter finished, guys! Sorry this one took so long, but life got in the way and I didn't have much time for writing with school and everything else. Now, though, it's summer and I should get to update frequently again for a while and hopefully I don't go AWOL for that long again.**

 **What did you guys think of this one? Of Ritchie's sudden appearance and some of his new Pokemon. And why do you guys think Paul is trying to get to Oreburgh City? What about Gary's quest to find Mega Evolutions?**

 **This was a lot less Ash-focused, but don't worry, he'll be the center of the next chapter when he takes on the Castelia City Gym again.**

 **With that said, let's take a look at last chapters reviews!**

* * *

 **Everyman52:** _ **So you wish it…**_

 **Vital Info:** _ **I'm going to try my best to showcase all of Ash's Pokemon, both old and new (canon and non-canon) to the degree they deserve and they will all have a chance to bask in the limelight at one point or another. As for Donphan's move pool, I'll work on trying to build it up a bit more.**_

 _ **Your theory makes a surprising amount of sense, in a strange way. While I make no promises, this theory is certainly something I'm now debating working into the story as a new method of training for Ash as he re-traverses the regions rather than having him suddenly master it upon returning. Although like you said, within reason of course, there won't be anything too out of the real of believability here.**_

 _ **Don't worry, pieces of what happened during the years Ash vanished are still being revealed to the world. Slowly but surely, Ash and Team Rocket's interactions will be revealed.**_

 **Pokemon fan:** _ **I'll definitely try and give the Othello dynamic some spotlight since I too feel like it is very uncommon but interesting pair. Ash and Hilda could be best friends, worst enemies, or passionate lovers and each and every option is just as believable as the last. I'll do my best to bring it up in the future.**_

 **Huntergo123:** _ **I'm sorry but imo Hunter sounds like a dumbass name. No but seriously, I'm sorry you feel that way but I felt like it was better than Satoshi for the 800**_ _ **th**_ _ **time.**_

* * *

 **Now that that's done… until next time, readers!**


	8. Bamboozling the Bug-Types

A Hero's Rebirth

Chapter Eight: Bamboozling the Bug-Types

* * *

Ash dismounted Pidgeot as they yet again landed in a pier, this time the port of Castelia City and home of the Bug-Type Gym Leader known as Burgh. Raichu followed, leaping down from Pidgeot's back and landing on Ash's shoulders comfortably as his trainer recalled the large, majestic bird Pokemon with words of thanks.

"Now then, what do you say we hurry and find the gym before we end up having to wait another night." Ash suggested to his partner, who nodded.

" _Yeah, we don't want to start lagging. If we're going to do this right, we want to beat all the gyms again BEFORE the Champion's League starts. That means, every day counts."_ Raichu agreed as Ash started walking.

"So, we'll try and take on the Castelia Gym right away. If we can, that's good. We take on Burgh, win, get a late dinner and then you and I get to relax for the night in the Pokemon Center, maybe some late-night training. Then, tomorrow we set out again and head on over to Nimbassa City." Ash mapped out.

" _Sounds like a plan, pal. I like it."_ Raichu approved, eyes scanning the sidewalks for the familiar gym doors. _"There it goes again, the Castelia Gym."_ He pointed out, feeling Ash nod.

"Here goes nothing." Ash muttered to himself before sprinting through the doors.

* * *

It looked just like they remembered it. Like they had just rushed into a clearing in the middle of a forest. If it weren't for the white chalk outline of a battlefield, you'd never be able to tell you were actually inside a state-of-the-art building built for Pokemon Battles. Hell, you could hardly see the roof of the place, which Ash attributed to giving the Pokemon room to fly since a good portion of bug-types had wings.

Before either of the two could get lost in the scenery, Burgh appeared before them. He looked almost exactly the same, give or take a few wrinkles. Burgh was still dressed in his oversized green sweater and colorful pants, accented to match his red scarf and shoes. Ash hadn't even heard him speak yet and decided he was still as crazy as ever.

"Welcome to the Castelia City Gym, I am it's leader, Burgh. But you knew that already. Who might you be, young man?" Burgh questioned politely, strolling over to shake Ash's hand.

"Raidyn. Raidyn Stark, and I'm here to battle against your personal team." Ash told him as he shook the leaders hand. He saw Burgh's eyes widen slightly and correctly assumed that he too had heard about him from Cheren. "I take it you've heard of me?"

"Yes, you are an interesting one. I can see why Cheren and Roxie spoke so highly of you." Burgh said, smiling at his challenger. Ash smiled back.

"How are you in rainbow pants and I'm the interesting one?" He jibbed. Burgh let out a laugh.

"Excellent question, really, to which I don't have an answer. I do, however, have a battlefield calling to us." Burgh replied, eyes wandering. Ash nodded and he and Raichu went to take their place.

* * *

"This is an official gym battle between Burgh, leader of the Castelia City gym, and Raidyn, the challenger. This will be a 3-on-3 battle with no time limit and will end when all Pokemon on either side are unable to continue battling. Additionally, only the challenger may substitute Pokemon." The ref announced loudly, gesturing flags at Burgh and Ash, who nodded. "Now, battle begins! Choose your Pokemon!"

"Escavalier, you're up!" Burgh called, releasing his first Pokemon.

Escavalier appeared on the battlefield in its usual suit of armor and red crest on its helmet, complete with red-stripped lances for arms as it floated in the air peacefully and ready for a battle. Ash grinned at the challenge as he bent down and took a Pokeball out of his bag.

"Unfezant, I choose you!" Ash cried, letting the Unova-native bird emerge in another flash of light.

Unfezant was a, grey bird with a bright yellow beak and eyes and a brown-colored underside. Unfezant cooed as she stayed floating in the air as well, ready to fight.

"Alright Unfezant, use **Air Cutter**!" Ash ordered.

Unfezant cawed and flapped her wings at Escavalier, sending light blue blades in the shape of 'X' hurling towards the bug/steel Pokemon. Faster than either Ash or Unfezant thought possible, Escavalier dodged the attack without prompting from Burgh.

Burgh smirked while Ash's eyes narrowed.

"Good work, Escavalier. Continue on with **X-Scissor**!" Burgh commanded. Escavalier's arms glowed light blue before it crossed them fiercely and charged towards the regional bird.

" **Double Team** , go!" Ash cried.

Just in the knick of time, Unfezant's form multiplied and spread out in a line. The Unfezant that Escavalier was targeting vanished as the attacking Pokemon passed harmlessly through. Escavalier didn't give up though and charged again, once more hitting a copy of the bird Pokemon. This time Ash smirked.

" **Steel Wing**!" Ash said to Unfezant.

In unison, all of the Unfezant's cawed and vanished into one bird, directly next to Escavalier. Before even Escavalier could blink, Unfezant's steel-coated wing slammed into its back and sent it a ways forward. Burgh quickly recovered for Escavalier, however, and cried out another command.

" **Fury Attack**!" Burgh's command came.

Escavalier quickly recovered, jabbing at Unfezant repeatedly with its lance-like arms. Some of the strikes the bird was lucky enough to avoid, but Escavalier got quite a few good hits on the avian Pokemon. Acting on instinct, Unfezant used **Steel Wing** again and began to meet the **Fury Attack** blow-for-blow, just like in training. Ash smiled, proud.

"I knew you'd get the hang of it eventually, Unfezant. Let's show them another trick; **Steel Cutter**!" Ash yelled enthusiastically. Unfezant chirped a reply, backing off of Escavalier for now.

Unfezant's metallic wings suddenly glowed a light blue around the edges before she flapped them in the familiar 'X' pattern, sending a **Steel Wing** -powered **Air Cutter** straight for Escavalier, who was unable to dodge on time. Ash didn't want to let up the attacks.

"Follow through with **Aerial Ace**!" Ash told her.

Next, Unfezant flew through the air, honing in on Escavalier, intent on keeping the bug/steel type in its view. White streaks developed behind the avian Pokemon as she sped towards her opponent at high-speeds. Luckily for Escavalier, Burgh was ready.

"Block it with **Iron Defense**!" Burgh commanded.

Escavalier's body was outlined in blue for a fraction of a second before it became metallic instead, signifying a metal coating and defense boost. Unfezant couldn't stop in time and slammed into Escavalier beak-first, hardly affecting the steel-type's stance and barely managing to move it backwards. Burgh smiled out at the battlefield.

" **Iron Head**!" Burgh called, taking his opportunity.

Escavalier's body began to glow, becoming surrounded in a white aura that made it appear black and white inside, before slamming its body into Unfezant's, sending them both crashing into a wall with the bird Pokemon taking the brunt of the damage. As Unfezant fell to the ground, Escavalier backed off and floated back in front of Burgh.

"Unfezant, **Quick Attack**!" Ash recovered.

Unfezant swiftly changed course and, rather than plummeting to the ground, pulled up and sped towards Escavalier with a blazing white trail behind her. Escavalier readied its lances, prepared for its orders.

" **Twineedle** it, Escavalier!" Burgh cried.

Escavalier's arms glowed once again, but with bug-type energy and it prepared to jab its pointy arms at Unfezant.

"Circle 'round it instead, don't let 'em get ya!" Ash called out next.

Unfezant gave no indication it heard the order before it followed without question, turning to pass Escavalier to the right before it circled back around, keeping just a few inches out of the **Twineedle** 's range. Unfezant was doing a great job at keeping Escavalier in her circle of range.

"Try a **Slash** attack!" Burgh said worriedly.

One of Escavalier's lances glowed bright white as it attempted to strike the bird, but it proved useless very fast. Unfezant was moving too quickly for Escavalier to even score a lucky shot with such an attack. Ash just smirked as he saw Escavalier begin to get unsettled while Burgh only grunted.

"You won't disorient us that easily. Rapid fire **Energy Ball** , now!" Burgh ordered.

Escavalier formed the familiar ball of green energy in front of its face, shooting it out at the wall of white Unfezant had managed to create. Unfezant managed to dodge the oncoming projectile, but it put a hole in the barrier she had created. It seemed Ash had noticed too.

" **Double Team** , but keep up that **Quick Attack**!" Ash told her. She chirped as duplicates appeared, following her lead in circling Escavalier at increased speeds.

"This is getting real old. Finish them with **Megahorn**!" Burgh demanded.

Escavalier put its lances up side-by-side and they glowed light green, forming one giant horn. It seemed to pause, as if waiting, before it launched itself at the wall of Unfezant duplicates. Before it could even make contact, however, Ash sprung into action.

"Great, now switch to **Aerial Ace**!" He commanded.

On the turn, Unfezant went up instead of to the side, leaving her circle as streaks of white followed her. Her army of duplicates followed, each going off in different directions as they all swooped up and looped around before turning to zero-in on Escavalier again just as it succeeded in breaking through the wall of white energy left behind from all of the **Quick Attack** 's.

Just as every Unfezant began to close in on Escavalier, Burgh cried out another order.

" **Bug Buzz** , now!" He countered.

Escavalier began to, quite literally, buzz as red sound waves emanated from its mouth and began to traverse the field, shaking along the way. All of Unfezant's duplicates vanished upon coming into contact with the powerful bug-type attack, leaving only one Unfezant hurling towards Escavalier.

"I've got to say, Raidyn, it was a brilliant ploy. Using **Quick Attack** to build up speed for a more powerful **Aerial Ace** while at the same time distracting us with duplicates so we wouldn't know where to focus on. Unfortunately for you, my Escavalier is skilled in more than just physical attacks." Burgh lectured, watching as the repeated hammering from the red waves of **Bug Buzz** slowed down Unfezant, each blast trying to force her back.

"Power through Unfezant, **Sky Attack**!" Ash encouraged. Burgh's eyes widened.

Unfezant's **Aerial Ace** was cancelled in favor of her favorite attack. Her body became shrouded in an orange-ish sparking aura for a few seconds as she charged her attack. Then, despite the constant pressure of **Bug Buzz** , she began to charge through, busting through the waves of the attack with little difficulty.

" **Double-Edge** instead!" Burgh said, rapidly changing tactics.

Escavalier's onslaught of buzzing ended just as it took off, hurling itself in the direction of Unfezant. Just in time too, as without the red waves of **Bug Buzz** slowing it down considerably, Unfezant was impacting Escavalier within seconds. The collision, of course, kicked up a dust cloud, not that that would stop either side from calling orders.

" **Roost** , while they can't see you!" Ash cried to his bird. He heard her chirp back quickly in response.

"Two can play that game; power up Escavalier, **Swords Dance**!" Burgh copied. Ash heard the clink of 'swords' as they crossed, making Escavalier even stronger.

Then and there, Ash knew that Unfezant couldn't win this battle. But that didn't mean her hard work would be for naught. He briefly thought about substituting her, but he highly doubted even with **Roost** and a minutes rest she would be capable of taking on anything stronger than Escavalier and decided against it.

"Alright Unfezant, I need you to stay strong for a little longer, okay? Our last stand." Ash assured. Unfezant cawed back to him as the dust began to settle, showing both Pokemon covered in scratches albeit with Unfezant looking significantly worse.

" **X-Scissor** , finish it!" Burgh yelled.

Escavalier repeated its motions from earlier, crossing its lances and forming a glowing 'X' in front of its body as it charged at the injured bird.

"Hold it off with **Steel Cutter** , again!" Ash cried out worriedly.

Unfezant's wings were coated in steel once more, but it didn't move. Instead it crossed them and shot out an **Air Cutter** , an X shaped attack of light blue energy was sent straight into Escavalier. Thanks to the extra power provided by **Steel Wing** , Unfezant's Air Cutter just barely managed to keep Escavalier from pressing forward. The relief didn't last long for Ash, however, as Burgh continued his assault.

" **Fell Stinger**!" Burgh ordered.

Escavalier launched itself forward an incredible distance before it drove its one, glowing lance into Unfezant's abdomen and sent it flying against the wall behind Ash, glowing from its power-up in the process. Ash both glared and grinned at the same time; he knew Escavalier's attack was through the roof with both the boost from **Swords Dance** AND **Fell Stinger** , but that didn't mean he couldn't win.

In fact, it really meant that he couldn't lose, since it made him all the more fired up to win. That made sense, right? It didn't matter, he thought, he knew he could win even without bringing his _real_ team out.

"Unfezant is unable to battle, Burgh and Escavalier are the winners of this round. Challenger Raidyn, please select your next Pokemon!" The ref announced to Ash and Burgh, with the latter taking the time to scan over his Unovian bug-type.

"Unfezant, you did great! Thanks to your hard work, taking out Escavalier will be even easier. You deserve a nice rest." Ash praised as he recalled his Unovian avian, putting her ball back in his bag as he plucked out another one, knowing just which one he needed.

"Don't be too sure of yourself over there, Escavalier just got a major stats boost. Nothing you have could take it out that easily." Burgh replied cockily.

Ash fought to keep from glancing down to his belt where his real team rested, Charizard's Pokeball in particular. Even Raichu's cheeks sparked at the notion that he couldn't take the Calvary Pokemon. Instead, he opted to enlarge his already chosen Pokeball and throw.

"Emboar, I choose you!" Ash cried, launching another Pokeball.

Ash's fire-type pig-like Pokemon came out in all it's glory, blazing its flame mane a big higher than usual for an intimidation effect. Ash smiled.

"Get in close with **X-Scissor**!" Burgh ordered.

Escavalier charged once more, displaying the X shaped blades in front of its form. Emboar smirked confidently, until Ash cried out. He was no fool; Ash knew that even a resisted attack like **X-Scissor** would hurt a lot with those stats boosts Escavalier had set up earlier.

"Emboar watch out, keep it away with **Flame Charge**!" Ash strategized.

Emboar nodded and begun stomping on the ground, gathering energy for his fire-type attack and kicking up a cloud of dust. Moments later, Emboar erupted from the cloud of dust covered in bright red-yellow flames and charged away from Escavalier, letting it ram its blades into the cloud of dust, before circling back around to hit Escavalier's side.

"Up, Escavalier!" Burgh cried, his eyes glinting. Ash's eyes narrowed curiously.

As Emboar skidded to a stop where Escavalier used to be, he let the flames drop from around him and he felt his speed rise. Ash glanced at him before looking to Burgh again when he began speaking.

"Hit hard with an **Aerial Ace** , Escavalier!" Burgh yelled happily.

Ash gasped audibly, truly thrown for a loop by that one. That could do _serious_ damage to Emboar at the moment, with Escavalier powered up and an attack as strong as **Aerial Ace** , not to mention Emboar being weak to it.

"Meet it head-on with **Heat Crash** , go!" Ash cried out worriedly.

Emboar suddenly became surrounded in a sphere of yellow-orange flames before he jumped straight up and at Escavalier. Ordinarily, **Heat Crash** would have no trouble at all plowing through such an attack, but with Escavalier's attack almost maxed out, it was proving quite the difficulty. Nevertheless, Emboar powered through despite the damage he still felt himself take and rammed his body full-force against the flying-type attach and straight into Escavalier, carrying them both into the ceiling.

The flame ball disappeared and Emboar backed off, dropping back down to the ground with a loud thud but landing on his feet. Escavalier wasn't as lucky, entering a free-fall from the ceiling before ending up two feet into the ground. Ash and Emboar smiled at each other as Burgh recalled his fallen dual-type.

"Escavalier is unable to battle, Raidyn and Emboar are the winners of this round! Gym Leader Burgh, please select your next Pokemon!" The ref called once again.

"I truly didn't think Emboar had enough power to overcome such an attack, Raidyn, even with the type advantage and certainly not with Escavalier having such a huge power boost. You've impressed yet another Gym Leader." Burgh complimented.

"Anything's possible if you have faith in your Pokemon, Burgh, you know that. Emboar just had to dig down inside and bring that power out." Ash replied, scratching his cheek nervously. He never was one for explaining things.

Luckily for him, Burgh just seemed to accept his words and nodded as he plucked another 'ball off his belt.

"We just couldn't take the heat, it seems. Maybe this one will have better luck. Crustle, you're up!" Burgh chose next, launching his Pokeball forward.

Burgh's Crustle appeared once the flash died down, revealing a small, orange crab-like Pokemon with an enormous rock-shell on its back. Burgh smirked out at Ash and Emboar as Crustle menacingly clicked its claws together. Ash only narrowed his eyes as he issued more commands.

"Don't get too close yet, **Flamethrower**!" He instructed.

Emboar proceeded to shoot forward a torrent of red-orange flames from its nose at Crustle, who took the brunt of the attack with its shell. Burgh smiled out encouragingly to his bug-type, crying out more orders.

" **Slash** attack, go!" Burgh cried out.

The tip of Crustle's pincer glowed in white as the Stone Home Pokemon charged its opponent. Emboar glared fiercely as it awaited Ash's orders.

"Brace yourself Emboar and hold your ground! Knock it away!" Ash called out to him.

He received a grunt of acknowledgement before Emboar let out what seemed to be a grunt of pain this time as Crustle slashed into Emboar's forearm. Emboar, however, held tough and pushed forward through the pain to force Crustle backwards, sending it skidding along the ground. Ash nodded in approval as Burgh cried out once more.

" **Bulldoze**!" Burgh told Crustle.

Crustle began to stomp the ground hard with its many legs until it jumped up a bit from the floor to touch back down with a tremendous amount of force, letting stones spike up and sending a shock-wave out towards Emboar, who winced in pain and fell onto one knee.

"Follow up with **Rock Tomb**!" Burgh continued his assault on Emboar.

Crustle became outlined in a sparkly white aura, identical to the one that surrounded the many, many rocks that began to form in a circle around Crustle's form. Ash narrowed his eyes, his mind already racing towards a conclusion, a way to win. Ash watched closely as the floating rocks circled around Crustle's form, some coming closer to the ground than others and disappearing in the dust.

'Wait, what dust? Why would there be dust now? It's too long for it to be leftover from… **Bulldoze**.' Ash though to himself, replaying the scene of Crustle using **Bulldoze** again and watching carefully as rock formations protruded from the ground after. Now, Ash looked again, watching as the rocks created from **Rock Tomb** scratched against the formations created moments ago.

'Those rocks,' Ash realized. 'They're not as strong as the natural ground.' Armed with the new information, Ash smirked confidently.

"'Kay, Emboar, you ready?" Ash asked. Emboar nodded definitively with complete faith in his trainer. "Jump and use **Flamethrower** \- on the ground!"

Ignoring Burgh's shocked expression, Ash looked on encouragingly as Emboar fired his concentrated stream of fire towards the ground with enough firepower behind it to begin propelling him further upwards and his impressive jumping ability for a Pokemon of his statue had. Once high enough, Emboar stopped firing and seemed to float in midair but Burgh decided to strike.

"Launch that **Rock Tomb** , Crustle!" Burgh cried.

Crustle waved its arms forward, pointing at the seemingly floating Emboar and the floating rocks followed, all hurling themselves through the air to target the Mega Fire Pig Pokemon. Just like Ash had hoped it would happen.

"Alright, now use **Heavy Slam** towards the ground!" Ash demanded, thrusting his arm out.

Quickly, Emboar's body became outlined in a bright yellow briefly before the fire-type hurled his body-mass downward towards the battlefield. The force of the impact created a crater twice the size of Emboar but also left jagged pieces of the ground sticking out in all directions, almost perfectly shielding the Unovian starter from the **Rock Tomb** , since the rocks shattered upon impact of the jagged edges surrounding the giant hole in the ground left by Emboar.

"Get back and use **Rock Blast** , Crustle!" Burgh said next. Ash's response was immediate.

" **Heat Crash** , bust through!" Ash countered.

Crustle scurried over to the edge of the battlefield, the tips of its claws glowing silver. Once in position, it slashed its claws towards Emboar, firing out a silver disc-shaped energy that came out one after another. Simultaneously, Emboar surrounded himself in yellow-orange flames once again, creating a sphere of flames around his body. After being safely surrounded, Emboar surged upwards and at Crustle.

The giant ball of heat easily broke through the first two blasts, only to have more trouble with the third. Ash realized what was happening very quickly; the smoke from the rocks was beginning to suffocate the flames surrounding Emboar. **Heat Crash** was being indirectly weakened, whether Burgh meant to or not. Ash grit his teeth together as Emboar struggled to push back against the fourth blast.

"Spin around, Emboar! Charge it backwards!" Ash yelled desperately.

Emboar heard his trainers' calls while inside the massive fireball and spun around, although he was unsure of the difference it would make. Surprisingly enough, **Heat Crash** once again easily broke through the fourth rock, but Crustle was still going strong and Emboar was only half way to the Stone Home Pokemon.

"Spin constantly and go for the shell, we can still do it!" Ash ordered.

The glowing **Heat Crash** begun to twirl around, looking like a small, rotating planet as it began to break through one rock after another. Ash smirked, seeing his plan working. With Emboar spinning, the smoke wasn't getting the chance to properly snuff out any flames before being blown away. No suffocation, no weakened flame. Even better, no weakened flame meant **Heat Crash** should be more than enough to finish off Crustle.

Unfortunately, Burgh wasn't ready to let that happen so quickly.

" **Rock Wrecker** , quickly!" Burgh cried out in alarm.

Ash let out an audible gasp as Crustle began forming a stone between its claws, glowing bright red. Rather quickly, the stone quadrupled in size until it was even bigger than Crustle itself just before Emboar reached his dual-type opponent.

"Go!" Burgh ordered.

The boulder moved forward but an inch before the sphere of Emboar plowed into it. The boulder and Emboar struggled for dominance, the boulder twice the size of Emboar but Emboar was more than strong enough to plow against it further. Crustle pushed harder, forcing the stone to move further forward against Emboar's immense physical power.

"Back up Crustle, but don't let up!" Burgh told it. Quickly, Crustle scurried backwards as it tried to maintain focus on pushing the **Rock Wrecker**. "Now, start another one!"

Ash had had enough.

"Go Emboar, break it down! I know you can!" Ash cried, voicing his belief in his friends' prowess.

Emboar let out a fierce growl as the sphere suddenly flared blue, a much brighter color than the mix of yellows and oranges it usually was, and got nearly a third bigger in a split second. Suddenly, the **Heat Crash** was more than enough to plow down the gigantic boulder in its path, shattering the **Rock Wrecker** into many tiny pieces as it continued on to plow straight through Crustle's attempt at a second **Rock Wrecker** as well and directly into Crustle itself, the bug-type letting out a very pained and startled cry.

Naturally, more dust was kicked up and both trainers were concerned for the outcome, although neither was surprised when the dust settled and revealed an unconscious Crustle and Emboar. Both Ash and Burgh smiled out appreciatively as they recalled their fallen comrades.

"Both Crustle and Emboar are unable to battle! This round is a draw, leaving Gym Leader Burgh and Challenger Raidyn with only one remaining Pokemon! Please select your next Pokemon, now!" The ref called out once more.

"Emboar, you did great, buddy. You evened out the score like a real pro, we won't let you down." Ash congratulated as he gently put Emboar's 'ball back into his bag in exchange for another one.

"That **Heat Crash** of yours is a real force of nature, you know. I've never seen a blue one before." Burgh commented, clipping Crustle's 'ball back to his belt. Ash nodded back.

"Thanks, we've been working on alternate ways to use it but that's the first time I've seen it change colors like that too. I guess training's been working." Ash told him, chuckling nervously. Burgh nodded, before gesturing to Ash to select his Pokemon first. "If you insist," He jibbed. "Gigalith, I choose you!"

Ash's Gigalith materialized on the battlefield, emerging in all of its glory. A Blue, quadruped Pokemon with red crystals poking out of various locations, from its forelimbs and head to its back and red claws on each leg to match it's bright red eyes. Ash smiled out at his rock-warrior as Burgh smirked, plucking his chosen Pokeball off his belt and launching it forward.

"Leavanny, you're up!" Burgh said, releasing his secret weapon.

In front of Burgh appeared Leavanny, a thin, yellow bug-like Pokemon wearing clothes that appeared to be made from grass, certain areas being lighter green than others. Immediately, Ash winced. This put Gigalith at a disadvantage right away, rock-types being weak against grass types. However, bug-types were weak against rock-types, which could be very good for him.

"Start off with **Razor Leaf**!" Burgh started.

The twin antenna on Leavanny's head glowed light green and the Nurturing Pokemon swung its neck forward at Gigalith, sending razor sharp leaves spiraling at the rock-type, who barely moved as they chipped against his stony body. Ash smirked; knowing Razor Leaf alone wouldn't do any real damage.

"Shake it off Gigalith and hit 'em with a **Rock Blast**!" Ash ordered next.

The red crystals on either side of Gigalith's face shined bright silver and the rock-type seemed to power it up for a few seconds before he broke through the volley of leaves by shooting a crescent-shaped blast of silver energy from the red crystal on his chest out at Leavanny. Gigalith quickly followed by shooting multiple more of the blasts, enjoying the rapid-fire of his favorite attack.

"Don't let them all hit you, Leavanny! Cut them with **Leaf Blade**!" Burgh countered.

Leavanny wasn't quick enough to destroy the first one, but it powered up a **Leaf Blade** in either arm before the second one made contact. The ends of its arms that were covered in leaves glowed light green and the energy made a sharp blade at the end of either arm just in time to slice through the next two blasts hurled its way.

"Now go!" Burgh gestured outwards, towards Ash and Gigalith.

Leavanny took its cue and began to sprint, evading all other **Rock Blast** 's hurled its way with surprising speed. In no time at all, Leavanny was on top of Gigalith, slashing at the Compressed Pokemon's body over and over again.

" **Rock Tomb** , keep it away!" Ash replied.

Gigalith's body glowed a shiny white color before more rocks were spontaneously created, also glowing white, floating in air. Right away, they were released from suspension and dropped onto the ground. Like before, they weren't as strong as the natural ground but it did the trick and Leavanny backed out of Gigalith's bubble of safety to avoid the falling stones. Ash glared, seeing Leavanny dance around between falling rocks.

"Aim carefully Gigalith and use **Power Gem**!" Ash instructed him.

Gigalith nodded as best he could before narrowing his eyes and watching carefully as Leavanny backed away, no longer having to worry about falling debris. The middle crystal on Gigalith's head glowed light red in color and paused, powering up, before a pale-pink beam with bright white edges around it was fired furiously from it, directly at Leavanny. Burgh cried out to his Pokemon, attempting to warn it but the beam traversed the distance much too quickly for any warning to be of use and Leavanny was struck in its stomach with the **Power Gem** , sending it flying backwards into the wall.

"Don't give up, fire back with **Leaf Storm**!" Burgh attempted to counter-attack.

Leavanny stood and attempted to follow through with Burgh's commands, only to be struck by another **Power Gem**. Burgh grit his teeth.

"Fire an **Energy Ball** first, followed by **Leaf Storm**!" Burgh instructed this time.

Second time around Leavanny was ready, effectively sidestepping out the range it would get struck by another **Power Gem** and firing off a well-charged **Energy Ball**. Immediately after, Leavanny ran forward a bit and jumped, letting leaves form in midair around its body before sending them all flying in a cyclone towards Gigalith. The **Leaf Storm** 's tip collided with the **Energy Ball** on the way, speeding the first grass-type attack along with the extra momentum.

" **Stone Edge** , right underneath you!" Ash yelled out urgently, knowing that combination could be dangerous.

Gigalith stomped on the ground hard and the familiar pillars of blue rock formed again, only this time they originated from underneath the Compressed Pokemon and darted forward quickly, lifting the rock-type into the air as if riding the pillar as it ascended to the sky. The rest of the pillars continued on as normal and fought with the grass-type attacks for dominance, only to be destroyed in the end, down to the last one that Gigalith was standing on.

"You thought you could hide? Leavanny, **Leaf Storm** once more!" Burgh taunted, happily attacking the falling Gigalith.

Leavanny obeyed, sending another cyclone of leaves twirling through the air at the seemingly defenseless Pokemon.

"I'd say this was a better alternative." Ash nodded to himself. "Come down faster and use **Earthquake**!"

Gigalith did indeed descent even faster, but it didn't manage to avoid the **Leaf Storm** completely. The rock-type still had to fight the leaves in order to ground itself back on the ground, but when it did the earth seized violently underneath it. Leavanny struggled to stay upright under the strength of the ground-type attack and Burgh noticed.

" **Razor Leaf** , once more!" Burgh ordered, getting an idea.

" **Flash Cannon**!" Ash's counter attack came quickly, like Burgh had wished.

The sharp leaves headed towards Gigalith once again, only this time they were met with a bright beam of white light with elements of light blue energy inside of it. The two attacks fought, but it didn't take long before **Flash Cannon** overpowered the grass-type attack and broke through the center of the attack. Leavanny quickly stopped firing and dove to the side, taking its own initiative to dodge. Burgh looked on relieved while Ash's mind raced once more.

'What's he trying to bait me into?' He wondered to himself. He wouldn't use **Razor Leaf** with the intention to do damage; no that option was killed the first move of this match and they both knew it. So, what did Burgh want?

"Go for another **Razor Leaf** , Leavanny!" Burgh said next.

" **Flash Cannon** , again!" Ash said again.

"Power up a **Solar Beam**!" Burgh continued.

Once again Gigalith's white beam easily smashed through the volley of leaves and continued on its way towards Leavanny, who had began to gather sunlight in its antenna glowed a faint yellow color. Burgh, meanwhile, had another idea.

" **Grass Knot**!" He ordered, feeling proud.

Leavanny's eyes glowed light green and two vines glowing the same shade of green as the grass-types eyes broke through the ground and wrapped around Gigalith's front left leg and pulled, setting the rock-type off balance. As Gigalith fell, the **Flash Cannon** was redirected and let Leavanny escape unscathed. Ash's eyes narrowed as he watched Leavanny continue to power-up a **Solar Beam** , knowing that attack could very well be the end of the battle.

" **Sandstorm** , go!" Ash instructed, hoping to delay the **Solar Beam** from fully charging.

Gigalith stomped on the ground hard as he righted himself, glowing with a multitude of colors while doing so and unleashing swirls of sand from his underside in every direction. Soon enough, the entire arena was covered in a sandstorm, with sand and dust blowing in everyone's face. It appeared that Ash's idea was successful once again, as the glow around its antenna dimmed and the sphere in front of its mouth no longer expended at an alarming rate.

"Block it with **Stone Edge** , hurry!" Ash countered hurriedly, worried for Gigalith.

Gigalith sent out the blue rock pillars once more, but it wasn't getting a lift from one again. This time the line of pillars breaking from the ground went straight out from in front of the source, Gigalith, and made their way rapidly towards Leavanny. The Nurturing Pokemon, meanwhile, had finally let out its devastating beam of golden sunlight towards its opponent, the **Solar Beam** striking and breaking through the shining blue rocks turning them into shards due to the type advantage and the attack-power difference.

While none of the stones made their way to Leavanny the grass-type attack managed to break through every last column and strike Gigalith's chest. It hurt, definitely, but not as much as Burgh would have liked; taking down those stones drained out a lot of the power from Leavanny's **Solar Beam** , leaving it weakened enough that Gigalith could stand back up.

"I admire your tenacity, I truly do, but its been a long time since my Leavanny has been beaten." Burgh taunted.

Ash smirked, knowing that Burgh was trying to talk to waste time. Burgh needed to think of another plan and fast, he realized. Ash wouldn't let him. Thinking quickly is one of the things he does best and as such, Ash quickly though of a plan.

"Well Leavanny isn't the only one on a winning streak, right Gigalith? We've yet to meet a bug-type we can't beat." Ash taunted back. He refused to let Burgh sit calmly and strategist, Ash needed him active and blind. " **Rock Tomb** , trap Leavanny!"

Gigalith launched the newly formed rocks once more, aiming at Leavanny's side of the field. Burgh didn't have time to counter attack before Leavanny was surrounded on all sides by the freshly thrown rocks.

"Go, Gigalith!" Ash encouraged, saying nothing further. Gigalith quickly went on the move.

Burgh, though, didn't notice that neither through the raging **Sandstorm** nor over the mountain of boulders presented before him that housed his signature Pokemon.

"Break them down Leavanny, **Leaf Blade**!" Burgh ordered hurriedly, wishing Leavanny out of its predicament.

Each boulder suddenly sprouted a light green slash through the center, followed by a break appearing and every rock splitting into two smaller, but still big, pieces with Leavanny's glowing arms. Burgh attempted to continue attacking, using Ash's own attack against him.

" **String Shot** to fling one of those stones over there!" Burgh told his Pokemon, who obeyed mid-slice and changed tactics.

From Leavanny's mouth silk appeared, hitting and wrapping itself around the nearest chunk of rock as Leavanny whipped its head around in a circular motion with the rock having no choice but to follow. After it reached momentum, the rock was released from the sticky hold of **String Shot** and flung across the field at- an empty space? Gigalith was nowhere to be seen.

"What trick have you pulled this time?" Burgh questioned, both he and Leavanny scanning Ash's side of the field.

"A disappearing act." Ash said simply before thrusting a fist out. " **Power Gem** , finish it!"

From Leavanny's left, something sparked red and in mere seconds, the powerful pale pink beam was back again and it slammed directly into Leavanny's side. The once tall Pokemon looked quite small now, sunken down against the wall, unconscious. Burgh's eyes widened as he ran to Leavanny's side while Ash and Gigalith grinned.

"Leavanny is unable to battle, Raidyn and Gigalith are the winners of this round and, as Gym Leader Burgh has no more Pokemon available to battle, the winner of this match is Challenger Raidyn Stark!" The ref called for the final time, raising a flag in Ash's direction before venturing off.

"Great work out there, buddy. I knew you could pull out that win." Ash patted Gigalith's chest as the Compressed Pokemon made his way back to his friends' side, smiling endearingly at Ash and Raichu.

"That was a great battle, Raidyn. It's been a while since my personal team got a workout like that one. You deserve this," Burgh said, flashing a badge. "But, I hear from Cheren that you aren't after these, are you?" He continued with a smile. "I take it a congrats will be enough?" He finished, extending his arm.

Ash quickly returned Gigalith as he listened to Burgh talk. It was a little annoying that Cheren had sent out the equivalent of newsletter about him, but at least it saved him explaining himself over and over. Besides, like he told Roxie; them knowing him only made it harder on him, and that made it more of a challenge. He never was one to back away from a challenge.

"That'll do, Burgh. Thanks for a great battle, really." Ash said shaking the older mans hand with enthusiasm.

Burgh only nodded as his final respect to Ash before he stepped back, allowing Ash and Raichu to turn and made their way towards the exit, on to their next destination; dinner.

* * *

"You start that stupid motto again and Electivire will fry your tongues off." Paul threatened the minute he answered Jessie's call.

He could hear the words get caught in her throat 'Prepare,' already halfway out of her mouth before it died off. He smirked to himself, hoping the threat would carry on to the next phone call as well.

"What she meant to say was, we found da twerp." Meowth spoke up quickly in his humans' place.

"Where is he?" Paul asked, although it was more of a demand than a question.

"We had the research twerp check for any mentions of his new alias, he told us when we dropped off the message that he was welcomed to the Champion's League that he might go off to train again-" James began, but Paul's grunt cut him off.

"Where." He demanded this time. The rocket trio sighed in unison, knowing the grumpy twerp was never one for a good conversation.

"He's in the Unova region and seems to be challenging the gyms again, using the alias Raidyn Stark. By now he's challenged and defeated two, maybe three gyms." Jessie told him quickly. He grunted his appreciation.

"Thank you, all of you." Paul acknowledged, moving to hang up.

"Well be seeing you twerp-" He heard James manage to get out before the line was cut.

Unova, huh?

Well, Paul decided, Oreburgh City wasn't _that_ far from the Unova Region was it? He could be there by the end of tomorrow should he make Oreburgh by nightfall today. Yes, he thought, this could work fine.

And with that, Paul continued on his not-so-merry way.

* * *

"In light of new evidence provided to us by the defense, the judge rules Giovanni Sakaki innocent of all charges formerly brought against him by the prosecution." The judge declared, banging his gavel loudly over the roars of the crowd, ignoring both positive and negative reactions.

Giovanni stood in a grey suit next to the judges' stand as he let himself be freed of his handcuffs by Viridian Cities Officer Jenny, smiling widely at her.

They were all fools, he thought, the lot of them. He wasn't complaining; those fools had just granted him his freedom back. It wouldn't hurt them much at first, no not yet. First he was going after those who put him away in the first place.

He wasn't stupid.

'The Dark Spark' wasn't some anonymous name, it was surely the muddled up version of his jailers name, Raidyn Stark according to Matori, his secretary. Recalling seeing the young man all those years ago, Giovanni smirked to himself again as he began to exit the court room, a wide and fake smile showing itself to the crowd as his brain worked overtime.

Raidyn Stark was no real person, he deduced. Few trainers fought with such energy, such enthusiasm, and such passion. And of them all, fewer dared to take on his great empire, known throughout the globe. That left very few choices, and even fewer with a loyal and destructive Pikachu perched on their shoulders.

Ash Ketchum was a dead man.

* * *

 **Another one in the books, gents!**

 **I'm a little disappointed by the lack of response, guys! I know it's been a while but reviews are fun for me! I enjoy reading your thoughts, ideas and criticisms on each and every chapter, I assure you, positive or negative, long or short! They help me engage with you guys more too, which is one of my favorite parts of updating new chapters, so please REVIEW!**

 **What'd you guys think of this chapter and Ash's battle with Burgh? Good, Bad, Eh? And again, what's Paul looking for in Oreburgh City? And what'll happen when he arrives in Unova?**

 **Dun, dun, dunnn! Giovanni's first steps as a newly free man happen at the end of this chapter, and he's figured out Ash's identity already! What do you think he'll do next?**

 **And who else do you guys want to see appear soon? I'm already planning for a LOT of people to appear for the Champion's League, but is there anyone you guys would like to see before that? Suggestions welcome, because the other side characters like Brock, May and Dawn will begin appearing again shortly!**

 **That said, on to the (lack of) reviews!**

* * *

 **Alicia Olivia Mirza:** _ **Hey! Thanks so much, I'm glad you're happy with it! Yeah, Ash has had a pretty rough couple of years, but I tried to not let it ruin his obviously impeccable character as someone with a positive outlook, and one of the easiest ways to do so is show his love for all Pokemon! It really bothers me when people focus on so few of his Pokemon just because it's obvious they're ALL so close with Ash and each other!**_

 _ **That was the idea ;) Funny how what once spelled disaster is something that Ash is really grateful for! Hopefully you'll see soon, I'm trying to keep them evenly developed (at least between Ash, Paul and Gary) and important. Keep up the great reviews for me and I'll do my best to update soon again, alright? :)**_

 **Vital Info:** _ **Indeed, it makes a surprising amount of sense especially since, as you mentioned before, it is probable that Arceus created Pokemon in his own likeness, so why wouldn't they all have every element dormant inside of them to some extent? Like I said before, within reason, I'd love to give this idea a try!**_

 _ **Although you're right, remember that Paul has also been a trainer just as long as Ash. It was mentioned in his debut episode that he had also already traveled through Kanto, Johto and Hoenn and competed in their leagues, just in a different order than Ash had. And we don't know what Ritchie's been doing since then besides gyms; Paul has been training, fighting Team Rocket and defeated the Battle Frontier. Plus, Electivire is easily on Champion level itself, which imo is stronger than anything Ritchie has. Next time I'll try and show Ritchie's years of experience, but against someone like Paul it's very hard to do so.**_

 _ **Yes, the Gym Leaders Association and by extension the Pokemon League has now officially taken interest in Raidyn Stark, which could be a good or bad thing. We'll see I guess. And yes, Gary will certainly attempt to keep better track of his long-time friend now that he knows Ash is alive, well and battling!**_

 **Dustin246810:** _ **He'll definitely make an appearance! He's with Ash, yes, and actually a member of the 'real team' touched upon in this chapter, but he hasn't been showcased in a proper battle yet. Maybe soon though…**_

* * *

 **Yeah, that's all the reviews for now! Hopefully there will be more to talk about with you guys next time! Until then, happy reading!**


	9. Current Events

A Hero's Rebirth

Chapter Nine: Current Events

* * *

Gary grumbled to himself as he dropped yet another Pidgeotite into the small pile he had amassed since returning back to Oak's Lab in Pallet Town with samples. He and his grandfather had spent the last hour or so inspecting possible mega stones. Most of them had been nothing but fragments of Pidgeotite along with a few full stones and the occasional Beedrillite piece. So far nothing had shown any indications of being related to Fearow, much to the Oak's dismay.

With a groan, Gary shifted and rolled his chair across the room so he was seated in front of his computer desk rather than the empty table with the intense lamp shining on it so he could inspect the samples they found. It was time for a break, he decided. He had been shifting through the minerals for the better part of two hours, completely skipping out on dinner to do so.

He punched in Ash's alias to the trainer database once more, but using a lab computer should give more results, as they didn't have to obey the encryptions the league put out on certain matters. For the sake of safety, the regional professors labs were exempt from these filters. Once more only a few hits came up, three of them the same as the last time, but he decided to revisit for clarity's sake.

The first was once again Raidyn Stark's Pokedex Registration, but a more detailed version. Raidyn had had his old Pokedex destroyed while traveling throughout the Orre Region, known by many to be a vast and unforgiving region filled with deserts and mountains. This Pokedex was registered to Raidyn Stark about halfway through the four-year gap of Ash's disappearance and put online by Professor Krane, a well-known professor based in Orre.

It appeared that Ash had been busy, as the registration page also logged the Pokedex's whereabouts using GPS. With it, Gary could see all the places Ash had been until it seemed like he turned off the locating system inside the Pokedex, perhaps realizing it could be used to find him while he was bouncing around the Pokemon World in a seemingly random manner.

The locations reflected seemed to be mostly vacant areas except for the occasional blip through smaller, more isolated towns likely to gather supplies. Ash's Pokedex data displayed that he had been in the Sevii Islands, Mt. Silver and Undella Town, among other seemingly less-populated places.

Next came Raidyn Stark's Official Trainer Page, which held all of the basic information about any registered trainers and their recognized accomplishments. There didn't seem to be anything new that wasn't already present on Gary's last visit. Raidyn still started with Charmander, was still born in Orre and was eighteen years old. There was only one picture; likely one Professor Krane forced him to take, in the top left corner. Gary smiled, recognizing his old friend immediately. Then came the records Gary had fudged, winner of the Grass Tournament, Whirl Cup and Hearthome City Tag Battle Tournament among other small, local competitions.

Now, though, it showed a complete list of Pokemon registered to the trainer. Some Gary recognized, others he didn't and others he saw had evolved. It seemed like Ash hadn't been slouching since the Kalos League at all, even if he wasn't training in the public eye.

Gary sighed to himself.

"We could've used you around Ash." He muttered before he continued scrolling downward.

Once again Gary was linked next to the website of the Gym Leaders Association, one of the leagues brighter ideas that served as multi-functional and entertaining in its own right. The Gym Leaders Association, a sub-section of the Pokemon League, is held accountable for rewarding trainers' badges that qualify them to enter the league competitions. To confirm that all badges were being won fairly, the leaders began to enforce a new rule of recording any and all battles that took place inside the gyms.

It fit multiple purposes under one umbrella. First, it assured the league that all badges awarded were justly deserved as well as helping keep track of the number of challengers each gym was getting. The number of challengers varied differently between gyms, as even though many trainers attempt to take on the league challenges only a few manage to complete the challenge to collect all eight gym badges and even fewer end up league winners. The chance to identify young talent was very useful before the league started up as it gave the champions and elite four the opportunity pick out talented individuals to follow over the course of their challenge.

Raidyn's folder was flagged as one of interest fairly quickly. Naturally, Gary thought, Ash was always one to make a scene. Raidyn's now-flagged folder consisted of full videos up to date on the current gym challenges, now consisting of three videos, all of Ash/Raidyn battling Unovian Gym leaders. Gary smiled to himself as he opened the first one, where Ash battled Cheren, and found himself smiling happily upon watching his friend battle again.

"I don't suppose you're having better luck than we are?" Professor Oak's voice startled Gary.

Immediately, Gary exited out of the page immediately and twirled around in his chair to face his grandfather.

"Not really, I found a lot of Pidgeotite fragments mostly, enough to make a few mega stones out of. And by now there's at least enough Beedrillite for one mega stone, but nothing resembling a Fearowite." Gary told his grandpa, who sighed.

"I was afraid of that. Tracey and I only managed to find the same thing you did, miscellaneous pieces of Pidgeotite and Beedrillite." Oak told him before glancing over at the computer. "Taking a break, I assume?" He questioned, gesturing over to the monitor.

"C'mon gramps, I'm all business, you know that." Gary bluffed confidently. "I was checking the database for all locations known as Spearow nests, thought maybe there was another place close by we could check." He paused seeing Oak about to inquire further. "We can head up to Route 3 and 4 if we want to try again someplace else."

Oak nodded, acknowledging the statement but he didn't move to leave.

"Did you want something else, gramps?" Gary asked him next. Oak seemed to shake himself back into his proper mindset and his chipper voice returned once again.

"I'd like you to go out and catch me sample Pokemon, a Weedle and Spearow." Oak requested. "We have enough for mega stones for two Pokemon, and I already have a Pidgeot I caught once upon a time. It wouldn't hurt to have a Spearow either, in case we make a breakthrough. Being able to observe the transformation up close would be very beneficial." He elaborated, seeing Gary's curiosity.

"Wouldn't you rather me come back with a Beedrill and Fearow?" Gary asked, standing up and smoothing out his navy blue pants and purple V-neck shirt in slight irritation. Oak shook his head.

"Mega evolving requires a bond to be present, remember? What better way to bond with them than to raise them." Oak explained, watching Gary move across the room to his belt full of Pokeballs.

"It's almost the middle of the night, isn't this why we have Tracey around?" Gary muttered to himself as he adjusted his belt and plucked his thin navy blue coat off the back of his chair.

"Tracey gets distracted too easily and, like you said, it's getting late. I'd rather not have him vanish into the wee hours of the morning, Gary, I'd like very much to turn in early tonight and I know I have nothing to worry about with you." Oak told him truthfully. Gary rolled his eyes as he stepped past Oak, patting his grandpa on the shoulder reassuringly as he passed.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'll be back with two new friends soon enough, gramps. Turn in whenever, they'll be here in the morning." Gary encouraged, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he exited the lab and entered one of Kanto's coldest nights that year.

He stopped only momentarily as he gazed down towards the town, more specifically Delia's house, before he shook his head vigorously and let the cold air slap his cheeks. Then he turned and began walking north, towards Viridian Forest.

* * *

"Another one down, bud. Only about 40 more to go." Ash joked, getting up from his table.

He and Raichu had just finished their late dinner in the Pokemon Center's cafeteria. He enjoyed the food there, he really did, but each meal indoors made him miss his island more and the large gatherings he and his Pokemon would have during meals. It was always so free and relaxed, no Pokemon limit and no restrictive walls that disallowed the larger Pokemon like Snorlax and Torterra the freedom to eat with the group.

The centers food was never bad, not really. And before they were never this lonely, back when they traversed the regions the first time. But, Ash and Raichu had previously agreed, after traveling through the regions as a group for so long and sharing every meal with a group, a cafeteria table for two was bound to feel isolated. Even without people, it wasn't as weird as without Pokemon. Before at least some of Ash's team would be small enough to gather indoors to eat and sleep, until recently that is.

Letting anyone out to eat now in public areas however only invited conversation, about the Pokemon, trainer, offers of a battle, a trade, trips, locations etc. in such a repetitive pattern that the duo had opted to just wait until they got into the woods. Ash politely waved goodbye to the family on the far side of the room, the children of which appeared to be staring over at them in curiosity as he stepped backwards and grabbed his backpack off the ground.

" _Every step is a step closer, Ash, no matter how small."_ Raichu told him, perching himself up on Ash's shoulders again for the walk upstairs.

"Since when do you talk like a fortune cookie?" Ash asked, sending his partner a side-glare.

" _Since I'm charged and ready for a battle."_ Raichu replied, gently wrapping his tail around Ash's shoulders to poke the one he was sitting on. The duo quickly approached the elevator at the end of the hallway.

"Yeah, well, I wish I could help you out there but everybody needs a chance to battle again. They need to warm up against trainers again, in real battles with two trainers." Ash explained as they entered the elevator.

Raichu merely rolled his eyes as he extended his tail to push the button to the third floor and the doors closed with a ding.

" _So, what's the plan?"_ Raichu asked after a few moments of silence.

"What do you mean? You know the plan already bud. We're crashing here for the night and then heading out for Nimbassa City in the morning, hopefully to challenge Elesa by the end of the day. The sooner the better." Ash told him factually, as if he'd forgotten.

" _I meant with the battle, oh wise one. Who are you going to use?"_ Raichu asked, ignoring Ash's attitude for the most part.

Ash hummed in thought as went to scratch his chin, but Raichu's tail beat him to it. Ash and Raichu chuckled a little in unison before Ash spoke up again in time with the elevator doors opening, letting them exit as Ash began to speak.

"Elesa specializes in electric-types so I'd be crazy not to use a ground-type, and we know I have plenty of those. Torterra, Hippowdon, Seismetoad, Steelix. There's a lot of choices, you know?" Ash told his partner.

" _Yeah, well, you're forgetting that you are, actually, very crazy and would absolutely not use one of the eight ground-types you have in favor of, like, Floatzel or someone."_ Raichu reminded his human, who chuckled as he swiped his keycard through the lock on their rooms' door.

They crossed the threshold simultaneously, Ash stepping forward and Raichu launching himself onto the bed.

This room was bigger than their last, due to Castelia City's reputation as a popular tourist spot. The Centers in places like this were usually bigger and cleaner than their small-town counterparts by just enough to be noticeable without casting insults to smaller towns. It was mostly for trainers benefit, the chance to live a little more luxurious than they usually do after days, sometimes weeks, on the road without charging them to stay in the actually very nice hotels nearby, which were mostly for ordinary people who weren't busy on their Pokemon journeys. At the moment, their room was only slightly more luxurious that the last.

Firstly, the room was bigger. It fit a twin bed with a nightstand beside it, between the side of the bed and the wall that housed the window with a dingy lamp, a landline phone and an alarm clock on top of it. There was an armchair across the room tucked into the corner facing the bed and door at the same time. Next, there was a television stand against the wall opposite the bed, a small cable box visible in the cabinet underneath along with a few DVDs. On the floor was a small white area rug, square enough to run the length of the foot of the bed compared to the hardwood floor that spanned the rest of the room.

There was a small closet behind the armchair for changes of sheets and whatnot, also housing spare blankets and pillows should they be needed as well as bathroom supplies. Typically the closets only had bottles of shampoo and bars of soap, but now there were two shelves of bathroom equipment. Shampoo, conditioner, soap, shaving cream, towels, etc. lined the top two shelves of Ash's pantry. The bathroom was comfortably placed just across the hall and two doors down, as not every room in every center had a bathroom attached no matter how small.

It wasn't much, and it was still more than the majority of centers provided unless you paid extra or there was an event going on, the centers in places like the Pokemon Leagues and Grand Festivals stepped up their performance a thousand fold, but for Ash it was enough. He threw the bag he was carrying by the strap against the chair in the corner of the room, content to forget about it for now as he looked around.

"Alright, I give you that one, I absolutely would. But Elesa's tricky; we'd need to be careful with that if we chose a water-type. That could be just asking for trouble." Ash reminded his partner.

" _I guess but, call me crazy, Elesa isn't the most challenging person we've faced."_ Raichu replied, stretching out his limbs and tail.

Ash rolled his eyes as he sat down on the bed and removed his blue and white sneakers first and his navy blue cloak second. Next went the hat, which was placed gently on the cloak with care as Ash moved over to the closet and grabbed a towel, soap and shampoo.

"I'm gonna get a shower while we're in one of the nicer centers, you should too." Ash said, trading his white socks in for a white pair of sandals provided by the center. Raichu nodded, scampering across the floor to climb the chair and bag in order to use his tail to pull down yet another towel for himself. "Show off." Ash muttered to his friend, shutting the door behind them.

* * *

Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet tiredly trudged up the stairs into their loft above the sandwich shop. They were exhausted from work today, more so than usual even and they didn't know why, as today hadn't really felt different than any other day.

"I'm so tired I could sleep for a week." James muttered, collapsing on the living room sofa.

There was only one real bedroom, which was Jessie's, alongside the kitchen, bathroom and living room areas. James typically slept on the couch or just also in Jessie's bed, which the four of them often ended up in somehow, especially during the winter months.

The door opened to the living room with a straight line of sight to the door at the end of the hallway, which was Jessie's bedroom. The living room, which was to the left, the put couch in the center and flanked by two reclining chairs, facing the TV of course with the kitchen counter a few feet behind, also open and view-able from entrance. The bathroom was further left of the kitchen, just out of view from the door.

"I've got to eat first, my poor stomach has been yelling at me for hours now." Jessie said, eyes half closed as she advanced into the kitchen. Meowth sighed as he padded over to one of the chairs, curling up and closing his eyes.

"Whatever ya gots to do, Jess. We'll be here- sleeping." Meowth told her, yawning halfway through his statement.

Jessie rolled her eyes as she began to heat up leftover slices of pizza, watching as Wobbuffet face-flopped down onto the ground, seemingly too tired to advance further. She sighed to herself, thinking about other foods she could have eaten and remembered there was a new restaurant in Viridian that delivered.

"Do any of you know how late the Solrock Cafe is open?" Jessie asked, slumping against the counter. James' muffled voice replied, but she couldn't make out a word he had said. "Try again, moron." He groaned.

"They put menus in everyone's mailboxes a few days ago, check that." He said, lifting his head from the cushions for a few seconds before letting it slam back down.

"Did anyone get it or is it still in the box?" Jessie asked, glancing over the coffee table that would have housed such items, to see it blank.

"Wobbuffet!" Her Pokemon cried, pointing over towards the door.

She rolled her eyes as she started towards the door, deciding to let the boys rest for now. Jessie haphazardly opened the door and reached out into the mailbox, grabbing everything inside with a fist and retracting it all at once. Meowth's ears twitched as Jessie let the door slam and the Scratch Cat's eyes opened wearily, watching as the redhead scrounged through the mail in her hand quick enough to send multiple things flying to the ground, including separate newspaper pages.

"Ya probably ripped it in half already goin' at dat pile like dat." Meowth teased, making his way over to some of the discarded papers. He began to shuffle through some, leaving them be if they weren't menus, they were Jessie's to pick up anyhow, until one section of the newspaper caught his eye.

"I don't see it anywhere here, James. Wobbuffet are you sure you didn't bring it inside already?" Jessie asked, reaching the last of items in her hand and letting them all flutter to the ground in frustration. She only heard both James and Wobbuffet groan before Meowth spoke up again.

"Uh, Jess, we got a problem." He told her, walking over to her side. She sent him a look.

"A bigger problem than losing a perfectly good menu?" She asked back. Meowth shrugged.

"Dat depends, how hungry are ya?" The normal-type replied, holding out the newspaper article he had found on the ground. She took it immediately, eyes reading only two words before she got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"'Giovanni Innocent? External Forces At Play?'" Jessie read the title of the article aloud. James and Wobbuffet both shot up from their positions and turned to face Jessie and Meowth, the color drained from all of their faces.

"This- can't be good." James said, curling into a ball on the couch as he looked out at Jessie. Wobbuffet nodded and copied him to the best of its ability.

"Woooooobbafett!" He whined.

Jessie didn't acknowledge them or the beeping of the microwave in the background as she read the article for herself. They were right, however. This wasn't good.

* * *

Paul sighed deeply, his seemingly endless trek to Oreburgh finally coming to a close as he slid down the small rock wall separating Route 207 from the cities entrance. Keeping pace, he continued on his way to the Pokemon Center, intent on getting a room before he ran his errand.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center, what can I do for you tonight?" Joy's melodic voice spoke out to him immediately as the familiar glass doors opened for him as he made his way up to the orange front desk.

"Just a room, please." Paul replied, nodding his head in greeting. Joy nodded, reaching under the desk to retrieve a key for the purple-haired man.

"Your room for tonight is 102, down the right hallway." Joy told him, handing it over. Paul nodded his thanks, taking the key from the nurses' hands and stuffing it in his jacket pocket.

"Thank you, I'd say goodnight but I'll be back soon." He nodded his head goodbye to the pink-haired nurse and left the center, heading east on his mission.

In no time at all he reached his objective; the Pokemon Lab in Oreburgh City, the only place in Sinnoh that had the capability to restore fossils. At long last, Paul entered with the intention of reviving his Jaw Fossil. Upon entering, he approached the counter in the back that had a receptionist behind a computer monitor, distractedly clicking and trying to listen to the doctor standing by her side.

It appeared that he saved her the trouble, as the doctors attention fell on him instead as he approached the counter.

"Hello sir, is there something we can do for you? We don't get many visitors here this time of night." The doctor told him, reaching out to shake Paul's hand. "I'm Dr. Clark, and you are?"

"Paul Shinji, I'm here to have a fossil restored." Paul replied shaking the older mans hand out of respect. Dr. Clark looked quite happy with the news.

"Oh wow, that's two in one day. You and some other lady, very nice, have dropped off fossils this evening." He informed the young trainer, who began to grow curious despite himself. The assistant, however, seemed to roll her eyes as if knowing something they didn't. "Anyway, yes, please, just hand it over to me and I'll begin the process right away."

Paul decided not to dwell on it, instead trying to hurry the process as much as he could. He would need to fly, he had realized, if he intended to make Unova by tomorrow night, and none of his Pokemon could fly him there that fast, not from Sinnoh, and the nearest airport was in Sunnyshore City, almost the entire continent away now.

With that, he had concluded, he would journey to Canalave City, which had the nearest port, and ferry over to Unova, which would only take a portion of a day longer to make the trip. So, Paul merely kneeled down to open his bag and retrieved his Jaw Fossil to hand over to the good doctor.

Clark happily took it, cradling it carefully as he began to speak to Paul as the trainer zipped his backpack up again and stood straight.

"I'll start on this fossil right away, the process shouldn't take too long, we've gotten very good at it here. Come back tomorrow morning, anytime after eight should let you pick it up without a wait." Clark informed him, nodding his head at Paul in respect and goodbye.

"Thank you, eight it is then. I'll see you then." Paul said, nodding once more as his goodbye before he turned and walked out, heading back over to the Pokemon Center.

Entering the orange building once again, Joy smiled and waved at him to welcome him back.

"Goodnight, thanks again for the room." Paul told her, walking past her with a small wave back as he headed directly to Room 102 in order to turn in for the night.

* * *

Gary growled to himself as he climbed a tree, attempting to follow the Weedle that had been trying to escape him. He had overestimated the amount of young Pokemon that would be awake and about this time of night, let alone of ones that weren't nocturnal like, oh say, the two he was tasked to capture. Weedle was in his sights, but a swooping Spearow interrupted Gary, and the trainer had decided that Spearow was more likely to flee, so he went after the avian-like Pokemon first.

Apparently, that had been a mistake. Now, there he was, the greatly experienced trainer and researcher Gary Oak sitting in a tree in the dead of night, hands cold and numb, branches pricking and poking places he swore his jacket covered with leaves falling and landing on his messy brown hair in addition to the large branches full of leaves that obstructed his vision, searching for one tiny Weedle.

"'With you I know I have nothing to worry about', so much for that gramps." Gary mocked to himself, although he continued climbing, not seeing the Weedle on any branches of the level he was on.

Arceus appeared to have mercy on him, as there was enough of a break in the branches to form a platform wide enough for Gary to pull himself up on and crouch down comfortably. It seemed he couldn't go much higher, the branches that stemmed out weren't all that heavy and most likely couldn't support his weight far out enough to get much higher than he would be if he simply stood.

Gary heard a rustle and froze, expecting the Weedle at any moment. True to his expectation, the Weedle came crawling down one of the branches in tandem with the roar of a diesel engine. The researcher's eyes narrowed, standing up within the tree to get a better look while extending his arm to the scared bug-type, who replied by quickly seeking refuge on Gary's arm, humming happily.

Gary while he carefully made sure Weedle didn't fall off his arm, moved a tree branch out of his line of sight and stared back at Pallet Town in the distance, a moving shadow getting his attention. His eyes narrowed and he crouched down again, suddenly conscious of being seen and observed as the truck-like object drove around the roads inside Pallet Town for five minutes and up the hill to Oak's Lab and back down before taking the road to exit the town, driving right by the stretch of forest Gary was, now, hiding in.

He held his breath as the vehicle passed as if it could hear him breathing from so far away, although he didn't want to take that chance. Something about that truck gave him a bad feeling; it was rare to get any kind of car traffic this far south of Viridian City, which was desolate of vehicles in its own right. A car that seemed to be mapping out terrain in the dead of night didn't sit well with Gary at all, nor the little Weedle that was shaking on his arm.

"I know they gave me a bad feeling too little guy." Gary soothed, scratching the dual-type on the head as it leaned into his touch. "Why don't you come with me, I can make sure you're well taken care of?" He offered, pulling out a Pokeball.

Weedle nodded, squirming up to tap its point to the Pokeballs center and allow itself to be sucked inside, barely putting up a fight while the capsule dinged in a successful capture. Gary smiled to himself.

"I still got it." He praised himself, sticking Weedle's shrunken Pokeball in his jacket pocket with Spearow's. Next, he braced himself and leapt off the tree he had climbed up into, landing hard on the ground but not hard enough to do any real damage.

It seemed that all was quiet now, just like before, and Gary didn't want to see if anything was coming back to map out the outskirts of Viridian Forest. So, with that in mind, the brown-haired teen began his dash home, straight for Oak's Lab with their two new little friends.

* * *

Ash groaned as he rolled over in bed, reaching an arm out to feel for the clock on his nightstand to shut off the infernal alarm. Raichu, also tired, curled tighter into a ball in an effort to drown out the terrible noise. Eventually, Ash's finger found the right button and the noise stopped, letting the duo sigh contently as they lazily opened their eyes and sat up.

"Seven o'clock already, huh? You think we overdid the whole 'early bird' thing, Rai?" Ash asked, getting out of bed and stumbling over to his bag to get out his change of clothes.

Currently he was in his more comfortable sleepwear, a white t-shirt and blue boxers, as opposed to crashing in his full outfit this time. Raichu sleepily tried to rub the sleep from his eyes using his tail, absentmindedly responding to Ash.

" _Maybe a little. It's harder to get up earlier traveling than it is to train."_ Raichu replied, stretching his muscles out. Ash nodded, slipping on his other outfit, which was just another pair of the same pants and a different t-shirt, this one white with light blue accents. The final touch was a pair of dark blue fingerless gloves.

Raichu was right, they did occasionally wake up early on particularly hard training days but it was never a routine. The earliest Ash had made sure he and his Pokemon were all awake was six am, and that was only once. Usually everyone woke up on their own time, which just so happened to get progressively earlier and earlier over the course of their training. By the time they left, eleven am was the latest everyone would be awake.

"How about we stick to the island rules, huh bud? Let's not head out before nine again." Ash decided, putting his cloak on and adjusting his hat.

Raichu nodded. Nine was a good time, early enough to be productive but late enough to not be tired upon waking up for a half hour. Then, he scampered over to the head of the bed and got Ash's Pokedex and belt off of the nightstand. He extended the belt out to Ash with his tail and held the Pokedex out his stubby arms.

"Thanks, Rai." Ash said, taking the Pokedex first and slipping it into his pants pocket. Then, he took the belt and effortlessly tied it around his waist before he turned around to reach into his backpack.

"I'm gonna head to the bathroom first, then we can get breakfast too before we head out. I didn't think getting up this early would be that hard." He told the electric-type, pulling out his toothbrush and toothpaste from his bag.

Raichu merely nodded, ears twitching as he lay back down on the bed and sighed tiredly. He was content to rest his eyes for a few more moments.

* * *

Meanwhile in Sinnoh, Paul was going through his own morning routine. He sighed as he got out of bed, looking at the clock telling him it was just after seven in the morning. He nodded to himself as he went to rummage through his bag, pulling out another set of pants to wear.

He had put his outfit through the wash last night, changing into his night clothes after which consisted simply of a black t-shirt and shorts. Now, he had just enough time to shower and get breakfast before picking his clothes up from the machines downstairs and heading over to the lab across town.

Moving quickly, he took everything he needed out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom. This could turn out to be a very long day.

* * *

Ash walked back over to the table Raichu was waiting at and put two trays down, both containing stacks of pancakes and a glass of orange juice. The trainer slid one tray over to his partner as he sat down; both he and Raichu drowned their trays in syrup in tandem, their stomachs yelling at them to hurry.

It was only ten minutes later when Ash went back up to get seconds for the both of them, each tray completely void of pancake. Quite impressively, the only sign the trays had been used was the syrup. After another stack of pancakes each, they sat up and sighed contently, now satisfied with their meal as they both reached and took a gulp from their drinks.

"It's so cool to see you guys do everything together! You must be so close!" Ash heard a voice call out, no doubt speaking about the two of them.

The duo looked up to see the family from yesterday standing before them on the other side of the table. The parents didn't seem too old, Ash guessed only a few years younger than his own mother. The kids from yesterday looked even younger up close, with the girl being older than her brother. They all had the blond (e) hair/blue eyes combination except for the daughter, whose hair was pitch black with dark brown eyes to match.

Ash smiled, recognizing the daughter as the one who spoke since the rest of her family were still attempting to catch up to her. They were just barely getting off the elevator it seemed.

"We sure are, Raichu's my best friend in the world." Ash told them, scratching the top of Raichu's head. Raichu grinned and extended his tail to do the same to Ash's back. She smiled. "My name's Raidyn, and this is my partner Raichu." He said, sticking his hand out for her to shake. She did, even though his hands were much bigger than hers.

"I'm Ashley." She told him and paused, not noticing his small smile. "I'm going to be a trainer soon too, you know."

"Ashley! Are you bothering this gentleman? While he's eating, no less!" Her mother exclaimed, reaching to grab Ashley's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, sir, she just gets excited sometimes." Her father offered his apologies.

Ash waved them off, immediately feeling a kinship with the girl. The situation reminded him very much of when he was younger and it was his own mother apologizing to strangers for his over-excitement towards their Pokemon. He looked down and saw the girl, Ashley, quickly grow upset. He almost wished he had told her his real name.

"She's not bothering us at all, right bud? We were finished eating anyway." Ash told them.

" _No problem!"_ Raichu cried happily, although Ash was the only one who understood him.

"You can pet him if you want, he's real friendly." Ash told her, crouching down. To prove Ash's point, Raichu jumped onto the table rather than the bench and sat down, happily plopping himself in front of his trainer and the girl ready to receive pets.

Ashley smiled wide and stepped forward, scratching Raichu's head and back excitedly. Raichu replied by reaching his tail around to scratch the back of her head, both parties chuckling happily. Ash smiled at them, turning back to her family.

"Like we said, no bother. You can pet him too, if you want." Ash told her brother. He seemed more reserved than his sister, but that didn't mean he didn't want to pet the electric-type as well, so Ash was surprised when he merely buried his head into his mothers pants. Ash merely sweat-dropped at the display.

"Don't mind him, Jeremy's just a little shy." His mom said. Ash nodded in understanding, knowing that it was best to let people open up at their own pace. "I'm Linda, and this is my husband Tom." She introduced both of them. He shook their hands politely as she giggled. "And you've already met Ashley."

"Yeah, we hit it off real well." He chuckled. "I'm Raidyn Stark." He introduced again.

"If I may ask you, what are you doing in Unova? You don't look like you're from here and Raichu's evolutionary line is incredibly rare here. Where are you from?" Tom asked him.

It was a rather blunt question, Ash supposed, but a fair one. He was tanner than most Unovians, Kanto being a warmer climate in general. Oh, and spending about four years on an isolated island, that too. Not to mention he had 'traveler' written all over him, from the 12-ball belt and sneakers to the obviously packed tight backpack he was carrying to the rare-in-this-land species of Pokemon he had.

"I'm from the Orre Region, actually, but after I started my Pokemon journey I traveled across pretty much all the regions training." Ash told them after hesitating a little. It had been so long since he had to answer strangers' questions on his past, he almost told them that he was from Pallet Town purely out of habit.

"How long have you and Raichu been friends?" Ashley asked, scratching under the electric-type's chin. Ash smiled.

"The very day I started my journey, almost nine years ago." Ash told her. "We had our problems at first, but we got through it and we've been best buddies ever since."

"Does that mean that Raichu was your first Pokemon?" Ashley asked in awe. She hadn't heard of getting any starter except the pre-selected ones that were all grass, fire or water-types.

"Sure was, but Charmander was my starter." Ash told them. Ashley looked up at him, confused, and he chuckled at her face, but explained further. "Raichu and I met when I got to Kanto, when he was still a Pikachu, where I had decided I wanted to start my journey, and helped me find Professor Oak's Lab. Professor Oak gave me Charmander and after I was officially a trainer, I caught Raichu."

He so very much wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted to encourage her to start her journey, to fight in blood-boiling gym battles, to make life-long friends and memories. But he had, officially, done none of those things as Raidyn Stark.

Ash felt bad lying, he really did, but he hadn't lived three years as Raidyn Stark to let that façade come falling down because of a girl that reminded him of himself. He knew, realistically, he may never even see these people again but that didn't mean it was okay to slip back into being Ash. Not until he took down Team Flare, who thought he was dead. The more people that knew the truth, the bigger chance it could get out and all it took was for a few cracks to be made in his new identity for that to happen and the cracks could come from anywhere. Even a curious family trying to find videos of 'Raidyn Stark's Sinnoh Gym Battles' that didn't exist could draw unwanted attention to him.

His identity wasn't flimsy, not if he stuck to what the trainers' database said about him, and there was no mention of gym battles there because, well, he hadn't battled any gyms. He had his old badges, sure, that he already re-registered to his alias, but that doesn't mean there was been a record of the battle happening. The only reason he was able to re-register his badges was because, legally, Ash Ketchum was dead. Otherwise, he'd have been re-challenging those gyms for more than practice.

"You started with a Charmander? Does that mean you have a Charizard now? Can I see it, please?!" Ashley practically squealed. Ash smiled, but her mother interrupted his answer.

"Ashley, you know it's rude to beg! You can't interrupt this mans breakfast and expect him to show off his Pokemon to you, he probably has important things he needs to do." Ashley's father scolded. Ashley sighed and looked down. She was about to apologize, Ash could tell.

He should've agreed.

He should've declined, told them he was sorry and that he had things to do. He should've left for Nimbassa City sooner instead of getting seconds, or he should've eaten faster and high-tailed it sooner, either worked. He should've agreed.

But- the look of sadness on the girls face at the thought of not getting to see more Pokemon, the look of joy on her face while she played with Raichu, those bright brown eyes that he saw _so_ much of his own in- it was enough to make him disagree with himself.

"Actually," Ash started, despite himself. "We don't have to be anywhere for a while. It'd be no trouble at all if she wanted to see some of my other Pokemon, if that's okay with you."

The look of utter joy on Ashley's face made the lies worth it. It made them not really lies after all.

Tom and Linda looked at each other, unsure, as they took in Ashley's doe-eyes silently begging them to agree. After a few tense seconds, Tom sighed defeat.

"Alright, you can go with Raidyn outside and see his Pokemon, but after we're done breakfast that's it, we're leaving. Understand?" Tom told her. Ashley nodded excitedly while her parents and brother merely smiled and nodded goodbye to Ash before heading up to the counter.

Ash turned to look down at his mini-counterpart.

"C'mon, I'll show you some of my strongest Pokemon." Ash told her, grabbing his backpack off the bench. Raichu jumped down off the table, opting to sprint over to the back door than hitch a ride for the dozen feet while Ashley kept pace with Ash, excitedly thinking about what Pokemon he had.

* * *

Paul got to the lab a little after eight thirty since his breakfast had gone long. He didn't like being late, but this time he supposed he could make an exception for two reasons. One, now it was considerably less likely he would have to wait at all. Two, Cynthia Shirona was also here, standing before the scientist in the lab and Paul doubted she would've been here had he been on time.

"Cynthia, nice to see you again." Paul said, approaching the desk. Cynthia spun around to see who had addressed her, letting out a small smile upon seeing the purple-haired trainer.

"Well, I didn't expect to be seeing you here." Cynthia replied. "I thought you'd be off training in the woods somewhere for the Champion's League. You are competing, right?"

"Of course, I got my letter a few days ago." Paul informed her, nodding. "I'll be heading off today to do some training, actually, after I finish up here." He paused. "I guess you're having a fossil restored too?"

Cynthia let out a sly smirk as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Yep." She said simply.

Paul gave a smirk of his own. It appeared she had no intention of letting him in on which one, he realized. Not out of rudeness, but out of surprise. She wanted to keep her Pokemon as much of a secret as she could in preparation for the Champion's League and that included her new ones.

That was fair, he supposed. You needed every advantage you could in a competition as large and intense as the Champion's League. Secrets were to be expected in a place like the league, especially when you were at the top. Cynthia had been Champion of the Sinnoh Region for years now and all of her Pokemon were still unknown.

"Where are you off too? We may cross paths, I've requested a leave of absence to prepare for the tournament." Cynthia changed the subject.

The Champions and Elite Four of ever region were, for the most part, automatically accepted into the Champion's League, but due to their jobs they usually didn't have as much time to adequately prepare. Goodshow usually only shut down the leagues themselves about a month before the tournament was set to commence which, in her opinion, wasn't enough time to prepare again so many strong opponents no matter how strong you were.

She hoped a few weeks off now would allow her to maximize her time in a few months.

"Unova, for now." Paul replied simply. If she was going to be tight-lipped, so could he. She seemed to understand his mentality and smiled a little more.

"I'll tell you what," Cynthia proposed. "If we run into each other before the Champion's League starts, we'll have a battle with our restored Pokemon."

Paul thought on it. He was going to challenge her now, but not with there restored Pokemon. They would be too new to do so. Battling was usually a great way to break in new team members and get a feel for their personality and battle style, but usually that was with Pokemon the trainer had prior experience with, however brief, before capture. The only prior experience he and Cynthia would have here was carrying their fossils around. Plus there was no telling if they would obey yet, either.

If he accepted her proposition, he'd both be able to train with his newest Pokemon beforehand as well as get the heads up on one of her Pokemon before he had to battle it in the league. It was a win/win mostly, except the part where he didn't get to battle her now. He supposed they could do both, but the risk of battling someone too much was there as well. You become aware of their battling style, their preferred strategies, Pokemon, attacks, etc. which was, in Paul's opinion, a huge disadvantage.

"It's a deal." Paul said, before the sound of a door closing gathered their attention.

Dr. Clark had exited the back room with a Pokeball in his hand, smiling bigger when he noticed Paul there as well.

"Here's your Pokemon, Ms. Shirona, happy and healthy!" He informed her, handing over the Pokeball. Then he turned to Paul. "I'll fetch yours right away, too, I wasn't expecting you to be here already." He said leaving into the back room again.

Cynthia hardly even got the chance to mutter her thanks before he disappeared again, and she didn't want to wait around. She was going to start training, and soon, so she shrunk the Pokeball and put it in her pocket.

"Well, I'd better get going. Places to be, Pokemon to see. It was nice seeing you again, Paul." Cynthia excused herself, waving goodbye as she went to leave the lab.

"Likewise." He replied simply as she left. His attention was called away when the door opened and shut once more, bringing Dr. Clark back into the room with another Pokeball in hand.

"And here you are, your Pokemon is also doing great, healthy as can be!" He mentioned. Paul nodded his gratitude, but decided to humor the man and speak.

"Thank you for your help, I appreciate it." The trainer acknowledged.

Then with that Paul turned and left the lab, intent on hitting his next destination in a few hours; Canalave City. That brought him one step closer to his ferry ride to Castelia City, but this was the easy part. From there, he actually had to _find_ Ash.

Arceus have mercy on his soul.

* * *

 **Boom, Chapter 9, locked and loaded!**

 **The chapter title was supposed to be a reference to us gaining insight into Ash's current alias, Gary's routine research and Paul's path of action as well as bits and pieces regarding Giovanni being released from jail but I'm not sure if I conveyed it accurately enough.**

 **Ashley, Ash's new friend, is what I like to call a plot device. So many iterations of the classic 'Ash disappears but returns strong as fuck' storyline turn him into some rugged and hardened muscle-man who is all dark and broody for a large portion of the story but I wanted to show that isn't the case here. He may be a lot stronger, and a little smarter, but he's still very much the same Ash that would drop anything to make someone happy and Ashley was a great way to help illustrate that further.**

 **(Fun fact, originally I was going to have it be a boy Ash bonded with. Named Red.)**

 **Next time we'll see some of Ash's Pokemon as they're shown off to Ashley, some familiar and some not so much, a look at some of Ash's former traveling companions are doing while Gary and Paul are off battling.**

 **Which fossil Pokemon do you guys think Cynthia should get? I haven't completely decided yet, so your opinions very well could sway the decision. And which Pokemon of Gary's do you want to see battle first? Let me know!**

 **Onto your reviews!**

* * *

 **For-England-James:** _ **Lucky for you, I'm very much leaning towards Rayshipping being the endgame.**_

 **DarkPirateKing69:** _ **Yeah I understand, I didn't mean for it to come off as… bratty? I guess as it did. It wasn't supposed to be 'Why isn't anyone telling me I'm doing a good job?' as much as 'Why did the last chapter seem to have less reviews than the previous ones?' you know? I didn't find you condescending at all, just giving an honest, rational explanation, which I very much appreciate.**_

 **Alicia Olivia Mirza:** _ **Hey! Thanks a lot, here's another one for ya!**_

 _ **Ha-ha, yeah it would seem so but what would you expect after so long? And yes, it helps to reinforce that all of Ash's Pokemon are capable in their own right, maybe not equally strong but equally important in Ash's family. Just you wait, pal, we've got a lot of those gym leaders to go! They'll be around sooner or later! Including the ones that may-or-may-not get suspicious ;)**_

 **Stars90:** _ **Thanks! I hope my future battles are able to continue keeping you on your toes!**_

 **Alpha:** _ **I mean, it's not like my chapters are short or the gym battles are unimportant. Compressing multiple gyms into a chapter would bring the length of a single chapter to well over AT LEAST 15k, probably more, since the gym battles aren't the only thing that gets focus throughout the story. And typing chapters that long would take longer as well, putting even more time between updates.**_

 _ **I'm sorry but I fail to see how 'multiple gym battles per chapter' while continuing the style/pace I'm going at will help anything move quicker. If you (as well as anyone else) think the chapters should be longer for any other reason than 'multiple gym battles per chapter', I may consider upping the word-count.**_

 **Vital Info:** _ **Ritchie will indeed begin to train himself harder and made an appearance at the Champion's League. I've got something in mind for him in his next appearance.**_

 _ **You bring up an interesting idea as always, my friend, perhaps I will showcase Ash training soon. He's almost halfway through Unova already and the gym leaders only get stronger as he progresses so even being on a winning streak is no reason to get lazy. Perhaps soon enough…**_

 _ **OOOOOOH, all such good ideas! Where to begin? I've been debating on giving the Champion's League it's own coordinator alternate (needing 6 sets of 5 ribbons to enter the Champion's League) but I don't think it would fit, they'd have something more like a Champion's Cup where they get to properly show off their talents and be appreciated for it, but that's not to say we won't be hearing from some of our old favorites.**_

 _ **I had a small plot-bunny the other day involving the Rangers and Ash and Paul, whether it would be soon or not I'm not sure. I may save it for Hoenn where this particular one would make a bit more sense, though. AND ROTA, I forgot Rota was a thing! You've certainly given me a lot to think about including, which is always appreciated!**_

 _ **Thanks so much, once again, for your kind words and ideas!**_

* * *

 **That's all for now, fellas! Don't forget to review with your questions/comments/ideas/feedback and I'll do my best to update soon to discuss them with you!**


	10. Battle-heads

A Hero's Rebirth

Chapter Ten: Battle-Heads

* * *

Outside the Pokemon Center was a backyard large enough to hold a single battle arena. Luckily for Ash and Ashley, it was early enough in the day that it wasn't being used by anyone else so Ash had plenty of room to show off his line-up of Pokemon.

"Alright, you wanted to see Charizard, didn't you?" Ash asked her teasingly. She nodded excitedly, almost bouncing on her heels as Ash plucked a Pokeball off his belt reflexively.

He had pattern now, more so than he did when he was younger. Twelve Pokeballs were around his waist at any given moment, six of which were always the same. Charizard, Sceptile, Greninja, Garchomp, Gardevoir and Steelix were among his elite group of Pokemon who's powers could rival legends, including Raichu of course, and their Pokeballs were on his belt at any given time. Raichu was the only exception and, since he didn't ever use his, it was usually tucked away in Ash's bag.

The rest of the belt, the second half that held the last six Pokeballs, wasn't as set in stone. It varied on the day, the activity and the location they were going to. It didn't really matter in the long run because usually anyone else who was going would have his or her Pokeballs put into the bag.

"Charizard, I choose you!" Ash gave his battle cry and Charizard appeared in a flash of light and an ear-piercing roar of power. Upon noticing they had a visitor, he looked down, perplexed.

" _Erm- hello?"_ He followed up awkwardly, bending down to her height.

Ash chuckled, patting Charizard's back as Ashley giggled and turned to him.

"Can I pet him too?" She asked. Ash nodded and watched as she reached out to pet the dragons' neck, scratching it lightly. Charizard smiled and moved to lick her face, causing her to pull away giggling. "I hope my Charmander grows up even half as strong as your Charizard looks!" Ashley proudly declared.

"You have a Charmander?" Ash asked her. She shook her head, circling around Charizard who was content to stay put and receive gentle pats from the new girl. Raichu, meanwhile, had hopped onto Charizard's back and smiled out contently.

"No, not yet. But I will soon! I'm supposed to go on my own Pokemon journey real soon, I turned eleven yesterday day ago but we were here on vacation so I couldn't start right away." She explained to him. "I actually live in Hoenn, but Kanto is where I want my first journey to be, so I'm going there to get my first Pokemon just like you did."

"And you want to start with Charmander?"

"You bet! Then Charmander and I will go around collecting gym badges and get strong enough to win the Indigo League!" Ashley declared. Ash smiled widely.

"I'll be rooting for you the whole way, Ashley. Maybe one day after you start your journey we'll cross paths again, and then we'll battle." Ash proposed. Ashley smiled up at him.

"Sounds like a plan, but don't expect me to go easy on you." She said teasingly.

Ash was absolutely floored. How on earth could he be reincarnated already? He wasn't even dead yet! Not really, anyways. And yet here was his reincarnation, his mini-me, standing right before him.

"'Course not, where's the fun in that?" He replied before reaching for another Pokeball. "Ready for some more Pokemon?" He asked her. She nodded happily.

"Sceptile, Greninja, I choose you guys!" Ash cried, tossing two more Pokeballs into the air.

Sceptile and Greninja materialized beside each other and cried out their names in a manner similar to Charizard's roar, although far less intimidating and ear piercing. Sceptile immediately placed a twig in its mouth, striking a pose while Greninja turned to Ash.

" _Really, not a battle? You so did that on purpose."_ Greninja accused, but he resigned to looking at the little girl anyway.

"These guys are my strongest Pokemon, you know." Ash told her. "These guys have conquered a lot, so if you want to battle be ready." He told her.

She looked on in awe at the powerful elemental beings of fire, water, grass and lightning. Each one looked so calm but also like they could break the world in half. She could feel the heat radiating off of Charizard's tail-flame now and the amount of electricity Raichu was releasing into the air was making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

They were strong, all right. But she would be stronger.

"You're the one who should be ready, Raidyn, because after I get my starter we're coming straight for you." Ashley declared.

Not literally, they both knew that, but it was an interesting challenge to make. It seemed that he had made himself Ashley's goal, a benchmark to pass of sorts. Anyone else would've laughed, wrote her off as just another kid with a fantasy or told her to get lost. But Ash knew that if she were as much like him as he knew she was, she would damn well catch up to him.

"I look forward to it." Ash said, reaching out his hand for her to shake. "Maybe the next time we meet I'll even be able to let you in on a few secrets." He told her cryptically.

Naturally she didn't pick up on the double meaning, but she was excited nonetheless to receive tips from a veteran trainer already, so naturally she pushed a little bit.

"Is there anything you can tell me now?" She asked excitedly.

"Don't give up 'til it's over." Ash told her his catchphrase. "That's what I always say and it's been working for me since before I was your age."

Ashley nodded solidly, as if vowing to remember the piece of advice. Ash almost told her that Pokemon were friends, not tools to be used in battle but he was sure she already understood that much. She was much too happy and excited to play with Pokemon and start her journey for him to be worried about her mistreating her own.

"How come your Sceptile chews on a twig?" She asked, looking oddly at it. Sceptile began to grow self-conscious and turned away quickly, causing his teammates to laugh.

"All Pokemon have interesting quirks of their own, Ashley, just like people do. Raichu hates Pokeballs with a passion, Charizard loves the color purple, I even have a Mienshao afraid of hair-ties…"

Ash had begun rambling now, talking about some of his other Pokemon while beginning to go through his bag to let them out. Ashley, despite what most would call rambling, was vividly hanging on every word.

* * *

Paul, meanwhile, boarded his ferry. It was an uneventful walk for the most part, although he would've liked more time between when he left Oreburgh and arrived in Canalave in case it wasn't so uneventful but he supposed it was no longer cause for concern since he was well on his way to the far away land of Unova.

He had made it in time with a few minutes to spare, so he spent the minutes leading up to ten o'clock in the morning by searching for a newspaper to take with him. Imagine his surprise and anger when Paul read the headline that Giovanni was released from prison already. He hadn't even left the region to warn Ash and they were letting the bastard free!

It seemed nobody trusted the words of the mysterious stranger enough to keep Giovanni behind bars and the nickname 'Dark Spark' was quickly drowning, soon to be forgotten, as the former Rocket boss would surely not like any more attention to be focused on the matter. He had thrown Domino to the wolves (or the Growlithe, in this case) for his own freedom apparently, according to the press in Kanto.

He made it like Domino was the head of Team Rocket and was using him as the face and threatening him to keep quiet while using his reputation as a gym leader for her own personal gain and hiding one of their many bases of operations under his gym. Paul glared at the newspaper so hard he almost set the thing on fire.

Paul grumbled to himself as he folded the newspaper enough to slide simply into his bag, deciding against lighting it on fire with his eyes in order to show it to Ash once he located the Kanto-native. He didn't doubt Ash would believe his story, the fact that he had traveled so far alone would be enough to convince the other trainer, but it would certainly carry more weight if Ash knew the extend of it.

After holstering the aggravating object, Paul had gotten on-board his ferry, the S.S. Taylor, and headed for his room below deck. He was a little annoyed at the change in circumstances, if he was being honest. He could've flown from Sunnyshore to practically the same place, Nimbassa was only a small ways north of Castelia but it was a quicker trek to Canalave than Sunnyshore from Oreburgh. Had he hiked over to Sunnyshore instead, he'd be arriving there at about the same time, as this ferry would be docking in Castelia tomorrow evening.

If he had gotten to Sunnyshore sooner, perhaps things would have been different. They had a fossil restoration in Unova, right? Paul shook his head, rolling his eyes at the situation. Nothing he could do differently anymore, he supposed. He was already on the boat so he might as well calm down, get comfortable and make do with the time he had until the docked.

The S.S. Taylor was big enough to have a battle deck, right? It had to be, Paul reasoned to himself as he walked by his room door, deciding on a different objective for the moment. He was going to find an opponent, and it didn't seem like he had to search long. Right as he was approaching the battle deck, he noticed there was already a battle going on.

On one side there was a trainer with nothing noteworthy about him except for the weird cape he was wearing. The pink haired woman on the other side, however, held herself with poise and power that Paul noticed immediately. It also looked like she had total control of the battle, her Pidgeot was leagues ahead of the other kids Poliwrath in terms of skill, power and speed. That much was obvious to Paul right away and it was enough to make him stay put while the pink haired trainer used flashy moves to win a totally one-sided battle in order to challenge her himself.

* * *

"Gary!" Professor Oak shouted suddenly.

Gary shot forward, the book that was resting on his face being flung forward and at the desk as the researcher fought to keep balance on the wheeled chair he was sitting on.

"I'm up, gramps!" He shouted eagerly, patting his lap searching for the book he had unknowingly flung at the desk. Oak rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I can see that. Just like I can see that you're working ever so diligently." Oak quipped, moving over to the desk and picking up the book. He held it out in front of Gary, who was searching his lap and underneath his legs still for it. Gary smiled; reaching out to take the book from the older mans hands.

"Thanks," He said sheepishly. "I was reading more about Spearow and Fearow habitats we could check out later, I guess I dozed off."

"Well, I've got something that might wake you up very fast. An old friend stopped by a little while ago, she's outback now with her Pokemon." Oak told him cryptically.

Gary thought hard for a few seconds on who this mysterious old friend could be before he shrugged and got up from the chair, stretched his muscles and cracked his knuckles.

"Alright, I'll go see who all the fuss is about. Thanks, gramps!" Gary said before he broke into a light sprint out the door and down the hallway, ignoring the sigh his grandfather produced as he slid down the banister instead of tripping down the stairs in his haste.

In no time at all Gary was out the back door of Oak's lab and standing behind a girl his own age dressed in trainer gear. She had a long brown hair that went down to her mid-back and was dressed in a light green tank top on with a plain white skirt, matching her white and red sneakers and her light green socks. What really sealed the deal for Gary was the white hat on the girls' head with red markings similar to those on a Pokeball.

"Leaf? Is that really you?" Gary asked in awe. The girl, now known as Leaf, spun around quickly and squealed at seeing her old friend again as she ran and threw her arms around him.

"Gary, it's been forever! I haven't seen you in so long!" She cried excitedly into his shoulder. Gary broke into a grin as he hugged her back.

He, Leaf and Ash had grown up together in Pallet Town. They were all friends before they started getting close to the age they would receive Pokemon, which was when Ash and Gary began to drift apart. Leaf, though, made it a point to never take sides and was primarily the reason Ash and Gary didn't kill each other in the year leading up to their Pokemon journeys.

She had never been one for gym battles, though, so he didn't get the chance to see her as often as he did Ash. She, along with the other kid who started from Pallet, had both dropped out of the gym battle circuit before collecting enough badges for the Indigo League way back when. The last time Ash and Gary had heard from her was after their battle in the Silver Conference, but even that was just a phone call from somewhere in the Seafoam Islands.

Leaf had decided pretty quickly after leaving the gym battle circuit that what she wanted to do wasn't battling, coordinating or researching. No, Leaf was on a special mission of her own design that Professor Oak had aided her in creating. Leaf wanted to be famous, but she knew battling and coordinating weren't what she was meant to do. So, she decided she was going to simply be the first person to ever catch all of the Pokemon that existed.

Excluding certain legendary and mythical Pokemon, every species of Pokemon had been caught at least once. A single person, however, had never achieved this. Leaf decided that, since she liked traveling and loved all of her Pokemon captured so far too much to give up being a trainer in general, that she would be the first person to ever catch every species of Pokemon there was.

Professor Oak had supported her decision whole-heartedly; admiring the dedication the girl was going through to keep the Pokemon that she now considered family. She wasn't ready to give up being a trainer but her heart wasn't in battles so instead the young girl literally created an entirely new and difficult task that was designed to take her ages for her entertainment.

So, the Professor had given her everything she would need. She had access to maps of all kinds of places across the world and she was given an early model of the X-Transceiver that acted like a phone, Pokeball holding system and Pokedex all at once. This Pokedex was special in its own right, though, made especially for Leaf by Professor Oak.

This Pokedex, that Leaf often liked to call her 'Green-Dex', was programmed with all known nesting locations and migration habits of all the known species of Pokemon in order to help her track them down. It could still tell her information about a Pokemon but only after a member of the species was caught. Last time Gary heard, she had captured every Pokemon from Kanto sans Mew and Mewtwo and was working towards catching all of the Johto Pokemon.

That had been almost eight years ago now, though. When he and Ash talked with her after the Silver Conference, she told them she was going to the Oblivia Region, an archipelago that was one of the most isolated regions in the world, in order to find Mew since Oblivia was known to be a region where rare legendary Pokemon tended to reside.

After that, they hadn't heard from her since.

But now, here she was in Gary's backyard once again, happy to see him. He should be mad at her, furious even, but at least she had returned. That was more than he could say for Ash so far. So, as he released her he smiled at her widely to show that there were no hard feelings for her disappearing. Not yet, anyway. Maybe when he found Ash he could just be upset at the both of them together.

"How's it going?" Gary asked her, looking behind her at her very large Venusaur. "I see your baby Bulbasaur's all grown up now." He noticed, petting the starter gently on the head. Leaf smiled.

"Great! I've gotten so many Pokemon, Gary, and I've almost completed four separate regional Pokedex's. Mewtwo, Ho-Oh, Jirachi and Deoxys are the last ones I need for three, and I've got quite a few mythical Pokemon from Sinnoh to catch still, but I'm progressing slowly but surely." Leaf told him, showing him her Green-Dex and letting him see for himself how many Pokemon she'd caught.

"How'd you get some of these, Leaf? You actually caught a Kyogre?" Gary asked, amazed. Leaf just laughed.

"Just because I'm not on the circuit anymore doesn't mean I'm not plenty strong. Some Pokemon aren't as willing to help me complete my goal as others, so battling is the only way." Leaf said with a wink.

Gary, though, found it hard to believe Leaf had managed to battle Pokemon like Kyogre, Groudon and Rayquaza into submission, but that was a matter for later. Right now, he had more pressing things to do.

"Leaf, I challenge you to a battle!" Gary proclaimed to the shock of absolutely no one in the vicinity. Leaf only smirked.

"You're on, bookworm." She taunted, tipping her hat.

Gary only smirked. This was going to be fun.

* * *

"Venusaur, cover Blaziken with **Frenzy Plant** , now!" May shouted to her two Pokemon.

Venusaur complied, becoming outlined in green and slamming its two front legs down into the ground and causing giant, spiked roots to start shooting out of the ground. Rather than send them at the opposing Pokemon, however, Venusaur made them form around Blaziken, creating a thick brush of vines with a pocket of space for Blaziken to crouch down under as the attacking **Whirlpool** attack busted upon impact, glittering light blue sparkles after it popped. May smirked over at Dawn, her training partner. Dawn only glared and looked out at her own two Pokemon, Piplup and Typhlosion's, wondering if there was anyway to penetrate Venusaur's defense.

"That was a great move, May, too bad you left Venusaur totally exposed. Typhlosion, **Flame Wheel**!" Dawn commanded.

Typhlosion ran off right away, jumping into the air and spinning while igniting the flames around its neck. After Typhlosion became a ball of red-yellow flames, it landed on the ground and rapidly spun towards Venusaur. Just when Dawn thought she was in control of the battle, May smirked.

"Do it now, Blaziken!" She cried happily.

Dawn was confused for only a few short moments before Blaziken busted up from underground right in front of Dawn's Typhlosion, going quite a few feet into the air. Dawn mentally cursed herself; of course May wouldn't leave Venusaur there like a sitting target against any Pokemon, let alone a fire-type. Blaziken had used **Dig** under the cover of **Frenzy Plant** , sneaking out underneath the bramble of vines and laying in wait for a sneak attack. Brilliant, really, Dawn commended.

"Come down with **Blaze Kic** k!" May ordered next. The end of Blaziken's right leg was immediately engulfed in flames as Blaziken bent its other leg, intent on stopping Typhlosion from hitting Venusaur.

"Oh no you don't! Piplup, **Hydro Pump** into **Drill Peck**!" Dawn countered.

Piplup chirped as it opened its beak, a small ball of water forming before it pulsed out in the form of a powerful stream of water, going straight at Blaziken. Blaziken had taken initiative on his own to throw his body weight to one side, successfully moving out of the way of Piplup's powerful water-type attack. However, what it didn't expect was for Piplup to burst out of the torrent of water in the area directly beside Blaziken, the water-type starters beak was glowing brilliantly with energy as it spun around and around like a top, exiting the stream and ramming into Blaziken's midsection.

Blaziken cried out in pain as it was flung to the ground and Venusaur grunted as Typhlosion's **Flame Wheel** hammered against its head. Typhlosion and Piplup's assault stopped simultaneously, both flipping back to Dawn's side of the field in battle stances. May only smiled as she stepped forward.

"I think that's enough training for today, don't you think? Blaziken and Venusaur could use a rest." May said, patting Venusaur's head as Blaziken moved to stand beside her.

Dawn nodded, petting Typhlosion's back as Piplup rubbed his head against her shin.

"Yeah, you're right. We're pretty spent too, aren't you guys?" Dawn asked her Pokemon, who nodded tiredly. It was only a friendly training battle, but it was still tiring to battle. "You deserve a break, return for now Typhlosion." She continued, sucking the Johto starter back into its Pokeball.

"You guys too, return." May said, holding out two Pokeballs to recall her starters with. Soon enough, only May, Dawn and Piplup were left in the clearing they had found in the Petalburg Woods.

"That strategy sure was something, May. It was amazing the way Blaziken dug its way out from under that **Frenzy Plant** without any of us even seeing it." Dawn complimented, picking Piplup up to hold him in her arms.

"Thanks, but I was more impressed with you! The way Piplup managed to swim up that **Hydro Pump** while still using **Drill Peck**? Incredible! I've never seen anything link it." May replied back, reaching over to pat Piplup's head. Piplup chirped happily at the admiration.

Then there was silence. It wasn't an awkward silence at all, but May knew she had said something wrong the way Dawn kept her eyes focused away from her. Whether it was on Piplup, the trees a hundred meters away or the cloud, Dawn absolutely wouldn't let May catch her eyes until the brunette girl physically grabbed her shoulder.

"Dawn, are you okay?" May asked, unsure, although she had a pretty good idea of the answer. Dawn sighed, finally turning to look at May.

"You said you had never seen anything like that combination," Dawn started quietly and May nodded. "But I have." She paused. "It's so stupid, you know? That it's been so long and I still get upset about it so easily."

May knew immediately what she was talking about, having felt the same way herself often enough.

"It's not bad to be upset, Dawn." May said, throwing an arm over the bluenette's shoulders as they continued walking. "You were close, best friends. He was a big part of your life and mine too. I still miss him every day. It doesn't make you stupid to miss someone who's important to you, no matter how long they've been gone."

Dawn sighed. She knew May was right, really, but it made her feel so silly sometimes the way even the smallest of things made her bust into tears because they reminded her of Ash.

"I know what you need," May start, waiting for Dawn to look up at her. Once she did, May grinned even wider, pulling Dawn closer by her shoulders. "A vacation."

"I'm on vacation now, aren't I? I've been with you for the last two weeks." Dawn said in confusion.

May rolled her eyes, releasing her grasp on Dawn as she moved to stand in front of her fellow coordinator. Dawn came to a halt as May stood before her, her grin ever growing.

"It's a vacation for you, sure, but what about little ol' me, huh? I'm here all the time, just because you're here doesn't make it a vacation, now does it?" She winked teasingly. "We should go on a vacation."

"To where, exactly?" Dawn asked skeptically. Not that she was accepting, but she was pretty curious what May had in mind.

"I was thinking somewhere with a nice view, a beach maybe. " May suggested, turning around and continuing to walk again. Dawn hurriedly stepped forward to keep up with the other girl.

"You- I- we- we're in _Hoenn,_ this is literally the most tropical region there is! Why would we go somewhere else to relax when we can trudge over to Slateport City and-" Dawn started to rant, only to be cut off when May dismissively waved a hand in her face.

"Because it's been forever since I got out of here, I miss traveling so much but there's just been so much happening recently. Ash disappeared, Max became a trainer and all of my friends and rivals had their own paths to follow except for me. I've been cooped up in Hoenn too long, Dawn; I need to see the world again." May argued with her.

Now that she mentioned it, Dawn couldn't remember the last time May had visited her in Sinnoh. For as long as they'd been close they'd always met in Hoenn, whether it was in Petalburg, Mauville or Liliycove they had met up in Hoenn. The last time she could recall meeting may outside of the region was just over a year after Ash disappeared and he was officially declared dead when a bunch of Ash's friends had gathered in Pallet Town with Mrs. Ketchum and Professor Oak to hold a funeral or sorts for the boys.

"I hear Johto is really nice this time of year." Dawn mentioned, stepping forward and linking arms at the elbow with May, who giggled.

"Maybe, but nice enough for beach weather? I'd love to work on my tan again…" May replied happily as she and Dawn made their way back to her house in Petalburg City. She wondered how her parents would feel about her leaving again.

* * *

"-And then Primeape basically just beat me up and stole my hat, back when he was only a little Mankey! So Charizard fought him for me and I managed to catch him, although I never did break him of that hat-stealing habit." Ash told her, looking over at Primeape who was basking in the Pokemon Center windows at his reflection wearing Ash's blue, large brimmed hat.

Ashley couldn't stop laughing at the image of the now-experienced and well-traveled teen getting beaten up and robbed by a small Mankey, the same one he would later capture no less! The whole idea was hysterical, she found, as she watched the fighting-type pose in the trainers' headgear.

"Hey, are all of these your Pokemon?" A new voice said. Ash and Ashley stopped laughing and turned around to face the newcomer on the field. He was a little older than Ash was, probably a few years difference, with brown shaggy hair dressed in what seemed to be a blue tracksuit.

"Sure are." Ash replied as he looked out at the group of Pokemon he had out now.

He had returned Charizard, Sceptile and Greninja a little bit ago in favor of showing the girl a few more Pokemon. Currently roaming the backyard of the Pokemon Center was Ash's Primeape, Espeon, Mienshao and Hawlucha in addition to Raichu.

"They sure look strong," The man commented. "Maybe even stronger than mine. I'm Jeffrey, by the way, would you like to have a battle?" He requested.

Ash paused, not really sure. He had already spent far too much time here, it was almost eleven in the morning which was two hours past the ideal time Ash would've liked to beat feet on over to Nimbassa. If he stayed and battled it would only be longer.

"I'm Raidyn and this is my friend Ashley. It's nice to meet you Jeffrey, but-" Ash started, intending to decline the offer of a battle until he heard another voice from behind them.

"Ashley," Linda's voice called. "It's time to go, honey."

"But mom," Ashley borderline whined. "Raidyn was just about to have a real battle! I might never get a chance to see someone like him battle in person again before I start my own journey! Please, can we stay and watch it, just a little bit longer?" The girl begged.

Linda looked at Ashley skeptically before glancing over at Ash.

"Were you going to have a battle?" She asked him.

Ash glanced between Linda, Jeffrey and Raichu in hesitation but when he glanced at Ashley and the look of pure joy in her eyes, he had made up his mind and nodded soundly.

"Sure was." He said, and Jeffrey pumped his fist. "It'd be really great if Ashley could watch, I think she could learn a lot from it."

Linda sighed and nodded, bringing her husband and son over to the bench on the sidelines while Ash moved over to crouch down next to his mini counterpart.

"Which Pokemon do you want me to use in this battle, huh?" Ash asked Ashley. "It'll probably only be a one-on-one so choose carefully."

Ashley looked around, studying the five Pokemon Ash currently had displayed and back to the few that were out earlier, like Charizard. She wanted to see how strong he was, sure, but she also wanted the battle to last longer so she could stay with Raidyn and Charizard seemed much too strong to cater to her current wishes, much like Sceptile, Greninja and Raichu.

So, she was left to pick between Espeon, Primeape, Hawlucha and Mienshao. He had told her Mienshao was the newest Pokemon he had, caught barely a few months ago, so that was the closest she would get to being able to watch a long battle today.

"Mienshao, can you use Mienshao?" Ashley requested happily. Ash smiled down at her, nodding.

"Good choice. Primeape, Hawlucha and Espeon, return for now. Mienshao, we choose you." Ash said, giving Ashley a thumbs up after recalling the others back into their 'balls.

Ashley and her family moved to sit over on the bench to watch the battle commence while Raichu scurried over to sit on the end of the bench beside Ashley for the match.

"Mienshao, huh? Alright Luxray, you're up!" Jeffery cried, lobbing a Pokeball and releasing his electric feline-like Pokemon. Luxray glared heavily over at the fighting-type, but Mienshao only crouched down, ready to fight.

"I guess we don't really need a ref, right? Standard one-on-one, no time limit, all that jazz?" Ash asked. Jeffery nodded his reply and Ash grunted. "You challenged me, you have the first move."

"Okay then, Luxray, use **ThunderBolt**!" Jeffrey ordered.

Luxray cried out its name as it released a light blue bolt of electricity hurtling towards Mienshao. Only, compared to one of Raichu's **ThunderBolt** 's, even before he evolved, it might as well have been moving in slow motion so she easily took the initiative of dodging the attack without her trainers say-so, moving quickly to the right and only stopped when she heard Ash call out another order to her.

" **Force Palm**!" He cried out.

Mienshao rushed forward and thrust her right palm into Luxray's midsection from the side and a blast of yellow light exited the fighting-type's palm and sent Luxray reeling backwards. Luckily for Jeffrey, it managed to flip around to right itself and glared over at Mienshao.

"Go ahead and give 'em an **Iron Tail**!" Jeffrey called next.

Luxray nodded and jumped into the air, somersaulting as it coated its tail in steel-type energy and attempting to slam Mienshao with it.

"Block it with **Dual Chop**!" Ash countered.

The ends of Mienshao's hands glowed with a green-ish color as she crossed them over each other and put them about her head, locking the **Iron Tail** between them and stopping it from making contact with her own skull. Jeffrey gasped in shock while Ash just smirked.

" **Acrobatics**!" He continued before Jeffrey had a chance to counter.

Mienshao's body then started to glow light blue and it seemed to disappear from underneath the weight of Luxray's **Iron Tail** , the glowing tail now ending up embedded in the ground as the light-blue rocket that was Mienshao zipped around to behind the electric-type and continued on, smashing into its back.

The force of the impact broke its tail from the ground and threw Luxray forward, but its grace was gone as it skidded to a stop on its side rather than landing on all fours like before. It did, however, manage to stand up and growl back over at Mienshao, who stood calmly before Ash.

"Raidyn's doing great out there." Linda commented to Ashley, who nodded. Linda swore if they were in some kind of anime, her daughter would've had stars for eyes.

"He's just as strong as I thought he'd be!" Ashley said excitedly before looking at Raichu. "Are you that strong?"

" _Stronger, actually. Way stronger."_ Raichu answered, although he knew it was useless to attempt to speak to her without Ash around so he tried to add a nod in with his speech to help her get the idea.

" **Iron Tail** again, Luxray!" Jeffrey called out next.

Ash sighed. They never learned.

* * *

"This battle between Leaf and Gary is about to begin. It will be a one-on-one match that will be over when either side's Pokemon is unable to continue battling and as such there is no time limit. Trainers ready? Begin!" Oak cried out, acting as the referee for the two long-time friends.

"Rapidash, fight for me!" Leaf called upon her fire-type racehorse.

It was impressive, Gary noted. It's flames were higher than most and it stood taller than the average Rapidash did, that was for sure, but nothing he was intimidated by even if he wasn't a full-time trainer anymore.

"Umbreon, you're up!" Gary released his Pokemon. Umbreon was one of his star battlers who had been in need of a good work out recently. It wasn't the same going against his teammates in battles as it was against other trainers.

"Is this Umbreon the Eevee that beat Ash's Pikachu?" Leaf asked curiously. Gary and Umbreon nodded in sync, although they shared a look.

"Good thing for Umbreon's perfect-at the time-record we didn't have a rematch of that battle. Ash and Pikachu got a frightening amount stronger after that." Gary admitted. "Don't ever tell him I said that." He continued quickly. He'd never live it down if Ash heard him admit that out loud.

However, he noticed from Leaf and Oak's downcast expressions that was the wrong thing to say. Right, Gary thought, nice going dumbass. Why don't you just go tell Team Flare he's still alive too while your at it?

"Right," Gary continued awkwardly before anybody could press further. "You can have the first move, Leaf, you'll need it."

"Alright Rapidash, let's use **Flame Charge**!" Leaf started.

Rapidash replied by stomping the ground repeatedly until red-yellow flames surrounded it. Then, it charged full-speed at Umbreon. Gary, however, wasn't worried.

"Dodge with **Double Team**!" Gary countered.

Umbreon barked and disappeared for a second, reappearing in sync with five other Umbreon clones flanking either side. Rapidash's **Flame Charge** continued going straight and collided with a copy, letting it fade from existence as it continued running.

" **Fury Attack** to hit them all!" Leaf ordered next. Rapidash's flames disappeared and instead the horn on the top of its head started glowing white. Then, it jumped forward to thrust the horn at the Umbreon copies, determined to find the right one.

"Don't let 'em get ya Umbreon, **Shadow Claw** on the ground!" Gary told it calmly.

Umbreon, before Rapidash could reach the real one, formed a claw with black aura in a purple outline and slashed it down across the ground. This managed to kick dirt and dust into the air long enough to obstruct Rapidash's vision since it was close enough to ground zero. Gary smirked while Leaf gasped.

"Now keep it going, Umbreon, **Dark Pulse**!" He continued his assault.

Umbreon formed a sphere of black energy from its mouth before firing a beam of black and purple circles at the disoriented Rapidash. Leaf cried for it to dodge, but there just wasn't enough time for the Fire Horse Pokemon to get entirely out of the way and was struck on the hind leg with the powerful dark-type attack.

"Use **Flame Charge** once more!" Leaf said next.

Rapidash wasted no time covering itself in flames again and charging, faster this time around. Still though, it wasn't fast enough to worry Gary.

" **Quick Attack** , dodge!" Gary told Umbreon.

Umbreon barked, quickly becoming outlined in white before it leapt away faster than it had moved before and leaving a white streak behind. Rapidash decided to continue on, using **Flame Charge** once more to charge the opposing dark-type while Umbreon had no choice but to use **Quick Attack** again as Rapidash was gaining more and more speed with each use of the fire-type attack.

"Get behind Rapidash, go under!" Gary ordered next.

Umbreon, while in mid-air, cancelled the normal-type attack in favor of a ground-type one. Umbreon fell down from the air and straight into the ground where it immediately began digging its way down deeper and deeper. Leaf, however, didn't seem all that concerned over the disappearance of Gary's dark-type. Gary noticed this and quickly became suspicious of whatever she knew that he didn't, but until she made her move he could only hope Umbreon successfully popped out behind Rapidash.

Luck was not in Gary's favor this turn, though, as Leaf struck first.

" **Drill Run** , find it!" Leaf commanded.

Rapidash nodded and jumped into the air, positioning itself so that the horn on its head was facing the ground. Then, it broke straight through the floor and tunneled through the underground maze trying to find Umbreon. After several long, tense seconds Umbreon burst through the floor with Rapidash behind it after having been tossed around with Rapidash's powerful horn.

"End it with **Megahorn**!" Leaf yelled, going for the finished.

Gary grit his teeth as Rapidash's horn glowed light green and it moved forward to jab Umbreon's abdomen with it.

"We're not done yet! Umbreon, stop it with **Foul Play**!" Gary ordered.

Right when Rapidash was about to make contact, Umbreon's eyes glinted and it moved to the side and kicked the fire-type in the side with its hind legs, sending them moving in different directions. Umbreon went further into the air while Rapidash went crashing down.

"Rapidash!" Leaf cried out in horror as her fire-type shakily stood from the ground and huffed. "Are you okay to keep going?" She asked and hummed in approval when Rapidash stomped its hoof on the ground, raring for more. " **Flare Blitz** , let's go!"

"Stop it in its tracks, Umbreon, **Psychic**!" Gary countered effectively.

Rapidash, despite being surrounded in a red-yellow blaze and charging full-speed ahead was still caught in the blue glow brought about by Psychic's power, glowing the same color as Umbreon's eyes. Still, Rapidash attempted to push through but its physical prowess was not as strong as Umbreon's mental prowess.

"Now throw it down!" Gary told Umbreon. Umbreon nodded and barked, tossing the still-flaming Rapidash to the side and letting it land lying down, its flames finally dying out as a dust-cloud stirred up.

" **Flame Charge**!" Leaf cried suddenly.

Again, faster than ever, Rapidash broke through the wall of dust in a ball of fire, running at the dark-type who instinctively used **Agility** to dodge without prompting from Gary, who sighed in relief.

"Umbreon's really fast, Gary. Even after multiple **Flame Charge** 's it can still out-maneuver Rapidash. That's not something that can be said for many Pokemon." Leaf complimented.

If they had been kids still, Gary wouldn't have noticed she was biding time. Trying to keep his attention on her instead of the battle and let her come up with some type of counter-measure. Nope, Gary thought, not gonna work.

"Yeah I know, Umbreon's always been a speed-demon. Like now for instance, Umbreon, **Mimic**!" Gary ordered, surprising Leaf.

Umbreon's golden rings flashed and it stomped on the ground, mimicking Rapidash's movements. Then, it burst into a ball of red-yellow fire and ran towards Rapidash. When Leaf made no move to dodge, Gary only smirked more.

"Turn away and use **Dark Pulse**!" He changed tactics immediately. Umbreon and its newfound speed turned on a dime, swerving away from Rapidash and skidded to a stop where Umbreon unleaded the stream of black and purple circles from its maw once more, colliding with Rapidash's side.

"How did you-" Leaf started, but Gary cut her off.

"You didn't really think an experienced Pokemon researcher like myself would forget that Rapidash can have the ability Flash Fire, making it immune to fire-type attacks as well as fueling its own? What do you take me for, Leaf, a rookie?" Gary mocked. Leaf had the decency to blush, but her glare held firm.

" **Megahorn** , one more time!" Leaf cried out in desperation.

Gary was startled when Rapidash complied. He thought for sure that last Dark Pulse was more than enough to finish Rapidash off but it seemed Umbreon was more tired than he thought from running all over the place.

"Block it with **Shadow Ball**!" Gary told it.

Umbreon complied, charging the ghost-type sphere in front of its face just in time for Rapidash to ram its glowing green horn into, almost slicing completely through the fully-charged ball of spectral energy and nailing Umbreon's head point blank.

"Now **Foul Play** , again!" Gary's next command came.

Umbreon's eyes glinted again, pushing harder against the **Megahorn** and giving it enough room to jump out from underneath it. Once the bug-type attack rammed into the ground, Umbreon struck and body-checked Rapidash, throwing it to the side once more as it flipped and landed on its feet like an expect acrobat.

"Finish it with **Dark Pulse**!" Gary continued on.

Umbreon obeyed, firing the string of black and purple circles once more at the downed Rapidash. After that assault of attacks, both Gary and Leaf could see it was down for good this time.

"Rapidash, return. You were great." Leaf complimented it.

"Umbreon, you did great. Thanks, pal, you go take a nice break, okay?" Gary congratulated Umbreon, stroking its back as it barked happily. Then, Gary smiled as his Eeveelution took off sprinting down towards the pond while Leaf approached him.

"That was a great battle, Gary. Glad to see you haven't lost your touch." Leaf poked his shoulder playfully.

"You didn't think I hadn't gotten stronger, did you? I'm mildly insulted." Gary huffed back, crossing his arms. "But, as long as you're here, I'd love to hear about how you've caught certain legendary Pokemon. Even the weaker ones are immensely powerful." He dropped his annoyed charade easily; he was too excited to learn more about Leaf catching multiple legendary Pokemon and the world _not_ ending.

"Sure, as long as you and Professor Oak tell me what you've been working on recently that has you up at all hours of the night scouring Viridian Forest." Leaf replied as she and Gary went back into Oak's lab.

Gary could only huff at the unpleasant memory and decided he'd leave out the part where he and a little Weedle were terrified of passing cars. Probably best for everyone, right?

* * *

"Luxray, use **Swift**!" Jeffrey ordered desperately.

So far the battle had been completely one-sided and he swore Raidyn was only toying with him. Mienshao had yet to take any actual damage beyond minor inconveniences, like wincing while blocking attacks like Luxray's **Iron Tail**. Still, Luxray obeyed and its tail began to glow and when it jumped into the air and swung its long feline-like tail, yellow sparkling stars materialized and headed straight for the crouching fighting-type. Since **Swift** was unable to be dodged, Jeffrey was sure he could at least land this attack.

Unfortunately for Jeffrey, Ash had other ideas and quickly countered.

"Rapid **Force Palm** , break them all!" Ash ordered.

Both Jeffrey and Ashley looked equally surprised at the tactic, as there seemed to be far to many starts to break with such a method. Mienshao, however, never one to question her trainer and friend, obeyed and thrust both its arms out repeatedly, the glow returning from her palm every time it made contact with a star. Soon enough, more than half of the stars were gone and Mienshao was still palming away, although it was noticeably more tired after such an exercise.

"Alright, no more being passive, right Mienshao?" Ash encouraged once all the stars were broke. Mienshao panted but nodded.

" _I look forward to victory."_ Mienshao said and Ash only smiled wider.

"Let's go then, **Acrobatics**!" Ash cried out.

Mienshao glowed a light blue again before it jumped and ran at Luxray, intent on crashing head-on.

" **Wild Charge** , meet it half-way!" Jeffrey called. Luxray growled and ran forward, its body becoming shrouded in yellow electricity as it charged to meet Mienshao at the halfway point on the battlefield.

Only, Ash had something else in mind.

"Switch to **Bounce**!" He ordered suddenly, getting startled responses once more.

Just before the collision, Mienshao pushed upwards with all the might in her legs and went high, high up into the sky. The electricity surrounding Luxray dissipated with no target left to hit and both trainer and Pokemon were left to start at the sky in wonder of when Mienshao would plummet back down to the ground. Fortunately, the answer was soon.

" **ThunderBolt** , again!" Jeffrey ordered.

"Spin!" Ash countered again.

Just as Luxray's **ThunderBolt** reached the height Mienshao was at the Martial Arts Pokemon suddenly spun to the side, letting the bolt harmlessly pass her as she descended even quicker to the ground, landing hard on Luxray's back before using it as a springboard and hopping over to her trainer's side of the field once more.

"We're not done yet! Luxray, use **Thunder**!" Jeffrey exclaimed suddenly.

Luxray forced itself to its feet once more and charged an even bigger column of electricity, this one much wider than the previous two, and shot it forcefully towards Mienshao. Ash, thinking quickly as it also apparently _moved_ much quicker than the previous two, ordered yet another bizarre tactic.

"Block it with **Aura Sphere**!" He cried out.

Mienshao quickly summoned the sphere of light blue energy in front of her between her paws, charging it fast enough so that it was big enough to cover her upper-torso and head. When the **Thunder** struck the **Aura Sphere** , it broke apart with the electricity going in all different directions, unable to penetrate the fighting-type attack.

Jeffrey was befuddled and Ashley was amazed, neither had seem an **Aura Sphere** be used like that before.

Of course not, though, it was another Ash specialty. He and Raichu, back when he was a Pikachu, had figured out that moves like **Aura Sphere** , **Energy Ball** , **Water Pulse** , **Zap Cannon** and the like were highly effective shields due to their natural, circular shape. When used against the right attack with enough time to charge it big enough, they were very versatile tactics to know. Against long-range moves like **ThunderBolt** , **Hyper Beam** and the like, it was a life saving strategy.

"Now fire!" Ash told her.

Mienshao nodded behind the collision of attacks and thrust its arms forward once more to send the **Aura Sphere** sliding through the **Thunder** unharmed and colliding with Luxray's face. Once the dust settled, the result surprised no one.

"Great job, Mienshao, you were awesome." Ash praised, petting Mienshao's head.

" _Thank you, I did my best."_ Mienshao responded, bowing slightly to show her respect for her trainer.

Ash sighed. No matter how close her was with them, sometimes Pokemon just couldn't break themselves of their habits. He looked up to see Jeffrey walking towards him, Luxray returned and arm extended.

"That was a great battle, Raidyn. You were truly the better trainer." Jeffrey said as they shook hands. "I hope we can battle again someday when I'm stronger."

"I look forward to it Jeffrey." Ash said back.

As Jeffrey walked away and before Ash could even turn completely around he felt Ashley grabbing at his arm excitedly and Raichu scampering over to his feet.

"That was so cool! Mienshao totally overpowered that Luxray!" Ashley raved happily, letting go of Ash as she went to pet Mienshao.

"That's nothing you won't be able to do with the right amount of preparing and training." Ash told her. She nodded happily as her parents finally joined them on the field.

"That was quite the performance, young man." Tom complimented him. Ash scratched his cheek nervously. He never was one for praise from strangers after a battle. "Ashley seems to have picked a wonderful role model."

Ash ignored Raichu's snort at the thought that he was a good role model and smiled back widely while Ashley spoke up again.

"Where are you going next, Raidyn?" Ashley asked curiously.

Ash smiled, returning his Mienshao and clipped her ball to his belt.

"I'm heading over to Nimbassa City to challenge the gym." He explained. "Not for the Unova League, though, more of like a training exercise."

"Well, that's certainly an, er, interesting way to train." Linda noted. "Alright, well, we'll leave you to it then. Come along Ashley, we've bothered this man enough." She said next, putting her hand on the dark-haired girls shoulder.

"Hey, it was no bother at all, really. Raichu and I had a blast with you." Ash insisted, crouching down to Ashley's level as Raichu stood between their feet. Ashley smiled as she patted the electric-types head once more. "It was great meeting you and talking Pokemon with you, you're gonna do great as a trainer."

"As great as you?" Ashley asked curiously. Ash chuckled.

"Probably better, I'm nothing special." He told her. "You just gotta keep on going and learn as much as you can." When he noticed she still wasn't convinced he sighed and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a slip of paper.

"When you become a trainer and set out on your own journey we'll meet again. I'll be at the Champion's League in a few months; you're welcome to come too. And if you want to battle before then, call this number and tell them your looking for me, Raidyn Stark." He said, handing her a phone number.

Ashley smiled widely, holding the piece of paper tightly while her parents and brother walked her away from the battlefield. They were probably eager to spend some time together, Ash realized, and they might have been going to get those Castelia Cones Castelia City was famous for. Oh well, he thought, missed opportunities are plentiful.

He knew he shouldn't have spent all morning with the girl, really, but she was so eager and happy to learn about any and all things Pokemon. There was no way he'd have made it to Nimbassa without feeling awful for crushing her hopes of getting tips from a 'veteran' trainer. He could only hope he hadn't made a mistake staying and an even bigger mistake giving them Jessie and James' phone number.

"You ready, Rai?" Ash asked, slinging on his backpack and unclipping a ball from his belt.

" _I've been ready since nine o'clock this morning, Ash."_ Raichu replied jokingly. Ash could only grumble as he released Charizard, who roared mightily again.

"Yes, yes, very scary, but hurry with the dramatics we're behind schedule." Ash encouraged.

" _Oh well, and whose fault is that?"_ Charizard mocked, crouching down as his two close friends boarded his back immediately. Ash only huffed and patted the starters neck, indicating it was okay for take off.

And take off he did, for Ash had a gym battle waiting.

* * *

Soledad, that was the name of the pink-haired girl Paul had wanted to battle with as he soon learned. He also soon learned that she was a very skilled coordinator and battler, her Lapras making quick work of his Honchkrow.

His Ursaring, however, had managed to turn the tide of the battle and defeated Lapras with a strong **Hammer Arm**. So now, they were even. But this was the last match, as they had settled on having a 2-vs-2 battle and Ursaring had already taken damage. So when Soledad called upon her Togekiss, Paul knew he was in for a rough ride.

"Start things off with **Swift** , Togekiss!" Soledad cried out urgently.

Togekiss cried out, opening its mouth as a reign of sparking yellow stars came through and flew through the air and across the battlefield at Paul's Ursaring. Paul grunted at the challenge, expecting as much. She had started every battle so far with a move that could not be dodged, likely to see how her opponent would react to the pressure.

Pidgeot's **Aerial Ace** , Lapras' **Smart Strike** and now Togekiss' **Swift** all served the purpose of letting Soledad get a read on the trainers mindset and battle strategy with the particular Pokemon so Paul knew he had to shake things up. He had let Honchkrow take the damage, it was bulky enough, but he couldn't afford that now with Ursaring and Soledad knew it.

"Block them with **Focus Blast**." Paul commanded.

Ursaring charged up a ball of yellow energy between its hands and held the orb between the incoming attack and itself. The stars from **Swift** were breaking apart on impact of the orb. Soledad was confused for a moment and it showed, the pinkette audibly humming in thought.

"Fire it." Paul said.

The **Focus Blast** traveled quick enough to force Togekiss to instinctively dodge without Soledad's instructions. Ordinarily this would've been a positive thing, but Paul had been counting on this.

" **Metal Claw** , right." Paul continued ordering.

Ursaring growled, his right arm shinning while being coated in steel-type energy and glinting as the bear-like Pokemon rushed forward, making a beeline to where Togekiss had dodged to, and leaping forward to slash the fairy/flying-type in midair. Soledad gasped while Paul grunted. Togekiss' instinct was to dodge right, as he figured. Both Pidgeot and Lapras before it had to be instructed when to dodge 'left', but dodging to the right was just 'dodge'. With Pidgeot, it could've been an isolated occurrence but with Lapras too, it was intentional.

" **Metal Claw** , again." Paul ordered, but Soledad had broken out of her stupor.

" **Double Team**!" Soledad countered.

Right before Ursaring's Metal Claw slashed into Togekiss again it vanished and reappeared with about nine copies of itself, resulting in ten Togekiss images circling around Ursaring on the field. Paul's eyes narrowed at the tactic but he didn't order anything new right away, which interested Soledad.

" **Steel Wing** and spin!" Soledad said.

All of the Togekiss' wings began to shine white and they all turned to face the sky before spinning around and around sideways. The light from the **Steel Wing** was radiating off the spin, causing each individual Togekiss to appear in the shape of a diamond.

" **Aura Sphere**!" She added in.

With the **Aura Sphere** now being used, the 'diamond' shapes were now glowing a bright blue color that was quite the dazzling sight to behold. Paul, though, couldn't care less about how pretty it looked. He knew there was another purpose to this attack and if he had to guess it would be to act like a-

"Spin towards Ursaring!" The top coordinator now cried out.

- **Gyro Ball** , Paul finished his thought as they all began to close in on Ursaring who was standing in the center of the battlefield.

" **Rock Tomb** , across the field." Paul ordered.

Ursaring raised its claws over its head as it roared and white rings started to appear across the field, each dropping a sizeable amount of large, grey rocks through it. The rocks rained down across the field, harmlessly passing through the glowing copies of the Togekiss-diamond technique and the real one just barely spun out of the way in time of a particularly large rock, causing Paul to let out a small smirk.

Had she been almost anyone else and he would've attempted to speak up and say something to her. Something about her creative strategy or perhaps relying too much on the chance his attention would've been completely derailed but she had proven that she was more than capable on her own and Paul was not about to start talking and give her more room to recover.

"Climb the rocks and hit it with **Metal Claw**." Paul instructed.

Ursaring acted instantly, jumping up in tandem with the shine on its arms returning and attempting to slash at Togekiss again but Soledad was ready.

"Parry with **Steel Wing**!" She cried out.

One of Togekiss' wings glowed white again and came swinging out to meet Ursaring's **Metal Claw**. Paul glared. Usually he wouldn't worry about Ursaring in a stalemate, he usually held his own damn well, but he was in midair now and stalemated with a flying-type. That wasn't Ursaring's field.

" **Hyper Beam** , push it away from you." Paul said next.

He knew it was hopeless to physically push Togekiss away. It he had Ursaring use an attack with its other arm it would be parried by the other wing and then Ursaring would be even more helpless, locked totally in combat with his opponent. Instead, Paul had to hope that a special attack from Ursaring would be enough to disengage the stalemate they had found themselves in before Soledad acted again.

A ball of purple and black energy formed in Ursaring's mouth and before anyone knew it, it was released in a beam straight into Togekiss' chest and it sent the two flying apart. Togekiss crashed into the ground and skidded to a stop before standing up while Ursaring landed loudly, stomping on the ground as it fell on one knee.

"Clever, but it seems your Ursaring has reached its limit. Battling Lapras took more out of it than you thought." Soledad taunted.

"I knew exactly how much battling Lapras took out of Ursaring, and it wasn't enough for it to lose to your Togekiss." Paul stated confidently.

" **Aura Sphere** , Togekiss!" Soledad attacked.

Paul couldn't do anything as the blue sphere struck the target Ursaring's fur marked on his stomach as the Hibernate Pokemon needed to recharge after using an attack like **Hyper Beam**. To Soledad's genuine surprise, though, after the sphere plowed into Ursaring and sent the normal-type flying backwards, it stood up once more and growled.

" **Psyshock**!" Soledad yelled urgently.

"Block it with **Night Slash**." Paul quickly countered.

Togekiss fired a steam of purple energy from its mouth at Ursaring, who had started to let the claws on both hands glow light purple and extend out past where its claws normally ended. Just before the burst of purple energy struck Ursaring, it crossed its claws in front of it, letting the purple stream hit the dark-type attack head-on instead and fade away into nothingness.

" **Aerial Ace**!" Soledad charged in.

" **Double-Edge**." Paul commanded.

Togekiss looped around in flight before taking off at Ursaring, trailing white streaks behind it while Ursaring ran forward and threw its body at Togekiss in a full-body tackle. Both bodies collided with one another, causing more dust to swell up and everyone but the trainers involved coughed and covered their eyes.

Soledad and Paul just continued to stare straight out at ground zero, waiting for the result to appear. As expected, after their trainers could make out their forms it was clear both Togekiss and Ursaring were unable to continue battling.

"Great battle, Paul. That Ursaring's really something." Soledad complimented, recalling Togekiss.

Paul nodded, having done the same with Ursaring after nodding his thanks and respect towards the normal-type.

"One of my strongest Pokemon. Thank you, too, it was good to battle someone as strong as you, it's been a while." Paul replied.

Small talk after battles was never in his comfort zone and one of the few times he was grateful for Ash even before they became… whatever they were, even before the Sinnoh League. The kid always made it was to talk back to, even if it was Paul talking down to him. Reggie said it was good practice regardless, though.

"Maybe we can battle again tomorrow, I'd love another warm up like that before the Champion's League." Soledad suggested before the wandered off.

Paul smirked, stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets as he stalked over to the food court. So Soledad would also be competing in the Champion's League? This was going to be a _fun_ tournament, Paul deduced. Fun indeed.

 **Oh my god I want to die. Four battles in one chapter are really exhausting, especially when so many different people are battling. But I wanted to show some of the parallels between Ash, Paul and Gary's battling styles as well as establish a few new appearances from the girls.**

 **May and Dawn will be vacationing in the Johto Region soon and will (eventually) meet up with a certain ex-trainer-turned-researcher and, well, Leaf. Soledad might make a few more appearances' too, but I haven't decided yet.**

 **This was my longest chapter yet, over 10,000 words and 19 pages on Microsoft Word. Yikes. But, if you guys liked it then I'll try to make all the chapters in the future about this long since 10,000 is a good, round number in my opinion. Let me know what you guys think.**

 **Next chapter will be Ash's gym battle with Elesa and it'll be a special one, all right. And, instead of only focusing on Ash next chapter I'll try to explore Gary and Paul further still as well as another of Ash's old friends. Any guesses as to whom?**

 **Make sure you guys R &R and all of you are welcome to PM me with any comments/questions/ideas if you'd feel more comfortable with that than leaving a review.**

 **Speaking of reviews…**

* * *

 **Thor94:** _ **I fail to see how exploring Ash's character more and taking a detour means we "aren't ready for the main arc of the story". The arc is still going on, his goals haven't changed and the story is still heading in the same direction, just with a small shift in focus. Ash isn't going to be stopping in every town to help every lost soul, but he isn't a dark and brooding man who could just take off without a second thought while a girl he sees himself in was asking for advice. It just wouldn't be Ash otherwise.**_

 **For-England-James:** _ **Soon enough, my friend. I'm doing my best to avoid the whole 'This is the first time I've seen you in _ years, I love you' thing so I hope you feel okay waiting just a bit longer!**_

 **Vital Info:** _ **I haven't planned out almost any of the actual matches that will happen during the Champion's League yet since we're still leagues (pun absolutely intended) away from there so that's definitely a strong possibility.**_

 _ **We've already discussed Coordinators in the Champion's League privately so I'll neglect to speak more on them here but in short for the rest of you; Coordinators who have enough sets of ribbons or other requirements (like Battle Chateau ranking) can gain access to the Champion's League as seen this chapter via Soledad.**_

 _ **The wheels are still turning on a Rota plotline, fear not friend. As for Ash's little mini-me I'm glad you liked it. I was afraid too many people would be upset about not jumping into the next gym battle but I really felt like it was important to show that Ash wasn't too hardened by his years in isolation.**_

 _ **Lol yes, real Pokemon would be preferable when answering questions like this. Although…**_ _ *** Google's it * it is pretty fitting. And alas, Gary and his research will make a comeback. I've got plans in mind for sure, and Gary was a league ahead of you on that one. We'll learn more about what he found out before his nap soon.**_

 **FacelessxAuthor:** _ **Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad you've been enjoying reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it for you! And yes as I've mentioned it was very important to me that I establish that this Ash wasn't turning into the brooding/depressed Ash a lot of other authors use and Raichu too.**_

 _ **I find more often than not that people have Pikachu surprise Ash with having evolved and that never sat right with me. It was definitely something they should experience together and decide on together rather than something like that and I'm happy to see you agree! I do plan on sticking with this one for a while; it certainly seems to be turning into a long story so I hope you'll stick around as well! Enjoy the latest chapter!**_

 **Guest:** _ **As you see, I did end up giving Ash an Espeon. He will indeed be having at least one Pokemon of every type for more diversity so he does have Pokemon of the types canon!Ash is missing. As for Aerodactyl… wait and see.**_

 **RagingSceptile:** _ **Thanks! I'm glad you like my twist on things; I thought it would be a nice change of pace for those like myself that felt like they were just reading the same story over and over again. Using the gyms as training? You can thank**_ **Vital Info** _ **for that.**_

 _ **Yes, precisely! The world is indeed bigger than just Ash and Raichu so I'm glad you like seeing the shenanigans Gary is getting into and the path Paul's taking. As for Dawn, here you go friend! As for other ships, perhaps some but I'm not sure which ones yet. I may show more of Abilityshipping but mostly because Anabel's crush was canon, not fanon. Sorry you didn't get Blastoise, I hope Umbreon was an okay substitute. Maybe next time!**_

 **Voltage-Livewire:** _ **Lol, thanks. I tried to play up her cuteness without seeming creepy and getting really detailed about how adorable this still-underage girl was being. And yes, it seems people are on the same page I am about Ash being Ash rather than a grumpy shell of the young Ash we see in the show so it seems I've done at least a few things right!**_

 _ **Oh wow, more votes for Aurorus and Aerodactyl. I guess you'll see…**_

* * *

 **Now then, if that's all, until next time, folks! Chapter Eleven: The Perfect Storm.**


	11. The Perfect Storm

A Hero's Rebirth

Chapter Eleven: The Perfect Storm

* * *

"There, the Lostlorn Forest." Ash pointed out to Charizard.

" _Got it, brace for impact."_ Charizard grunted back, tucking his wings back slightly and pointing his front down.

For anyone else, it would've been a terrifying situation to be landing at such speeds on the back of a ferocious Pokemon. But Ash and Raichu, it was Tuesday. They both hardly flinched at the altitude quickly changing around them and merely leaned back with the force of winds blowing against them, both relaxed enough for Charizard to not worry about coming in too fast and as a result, he stuck the landing, only taking three trees down with him this time.

It was a considerable improvement over the last time they had landed in a forest, so Ash didn't see any reason to reprimand the fire-type. Instead, he simply dismounted his loyal friend and let Raichu land on his shoulder, one hand scratching both Pokemon.

"Great ride, buddy. We'll work on your landing some more, but nice improvement. Rest up; with any luck we can be in and out of Nimbassa. We probably can't catch another gym battle after in Driftveil City, but it'd be nice to get there sometime tonight." Ash told them, recalling Charizard after the Kanto starter answered in the affirmative.

" _You think we'll be able to catch Elesa at a good time?"_ Raichu asked curiously.

"Who knows, from what I read last night she's always pretty busy with her fashion stuff." Ash said, moving a shrub out of his way. "We'll just have to hope for the best."

" _I still can't believe you even read."_ Raichu jabbed. _"You never read up on gyms before."_

"Yeah well, look at how well we've been doing so far while I have compared to before." Ash replied. "It's kinda nice knowing what you're in for sometimes, ya know?"

" _Yes, that couldn't possibly be because we're all just a lot stronger than before, or that we're flying over half the routes instead of walking them like before, or that it's not even about the badges this time around."_ Raichu deadpanned.

"Say what you want, I've just finally started taking everybody's advice to heart. Where's the harm in planning a bit more?" Ash defended himself.

Raichu only shrugged, signifying the end of the conversation just in time for them to emerge from the forest and come face-to-face with the bottom of a large Ferris wheel. They were getting warmed, they knew, as they pressed on, heading west. They quickly bypassed Route 16, ignoring everyone and everything on the route in favor of just continuing towards the city.

Ash and Raichu could feel their adrenaline pumping already, even being blocks from the gym and not even knowing there was a battle waiting for them in the near future. Just the thought of one was enough to invigorate the duo. They loved the rush they got from battles in general, but there was definitely something special about Gym Battles in particular.

That was why they broke into a borderline sprint towards the Nimbassa Gym, eager to get back on the field.

* * *

"Good work, Weavile. Thank you." Paul thanked, recalling the dual-type.

He had just finished another battle, another two-on-two, but it was much less exciting than the one he had against Soledad. The only reason he even switched was because the other trainer got lucky and managed to burn Aerodactyl, halving its physical attack to almost nothing. It wasn't worth continuing to Paul, as it would've only resulted in a 2-1 victory instead of a 2-0 victory.

"Hey," Someone said approaching him. He looked up to see a slightly tanned man in a floral shirt and a flower necklace. Paul looked up to acknowledge them. "Great battle back there, I really liked your Weavile."

Paul stilled for a moment. He knew what the man wanted.

"Weavile isn't for trade." Paul told him.

He had changed, not much, but he had. He valued his Pokemon more as individuals than he did before and they certainly weren't just tools for him. That being said, even with that he wasn't above trading certain Pokemon away if the deal was right but there was still those where trading was non-negotiable.

"That's too bad," He started. "How 'bout the other one, then? Aerodactyl? I've never seen one of those before."

Paul hummed. He did just get a new fossil Pokemon, which seemed to have far more potential than Aerodactyl ever did even still. And Aerodactyl was one of those he wasn't above trading. The least he could do is see what the guy was offering, right?

"What have you got?" Paul asked, unclipping Aerodactyl's Pokeball from his belt. The tanned man smiled, unclipping an Ultra Ball from his waist.

"Have you ever been to the Alola Region?" He asked cryptically.

* * *

" _Hello?_ **"** Ash and Raichu asked in unison, pushing the Nimbassa City Gym's door open into the darkness.

It was a surreal experience for the duo to see nobody there after the crowds that had hounded the place on his last visit. He his fist thought was that the gym was closed for the day, but that was before lights turned on throughout the room and the Nimbassa Gym was back.

The battlefield was at the top of a small staircase on the challengers' side and the bottom of another on the leaders side that led to a small stage. Elesa must have changed up the place so her battlefield doubled as a runway, he thought, watching as Elesa strolled out to stand at the top of her staircase.

She had changed her attire the most since last time out of all the gym leaders he'd seen so far. She was wearing a skirt and shirt that had the same yellow-and-blue-striped pattern but they weren't long enough to meet in the middle, her shirt leaving her whole stomach exposed and the skirt stopped in the middle of her thigh. Worn loosely around her shoulders was a puffy yellow coat, however, that dropped down far enough to hide both her other articles of clothing. Her blonde hair was gone, dyed to be as dark as his raven-colored hair with radio antenna-like wires protruding from her headphones.

Elesa stood silently for a moment but smirked and looked around, seeing the sea of people below the battlefield that had come for her interview today.

"I was wondering when you'd reach me." She jibbed across the room.

" _I guess she knew we were coming."_ Raichu deadpanned. Ash only smiled wider.

"Would've been here sooner, but we got sidetracked." Ash told her firmly. "We're here for a gym battle, Elesa, against your personal team." He stated anyway to make the challenge official.

"There's a small problem." Another voice said.

Then, another girl appeared next to Elesa up on the stage. She was in a blue long-sleeved crop top the same color as her light blue short-shorts accentuated with bulky dark blue gloves, boots and a holster to strap into any plane. Her hair was vibrant red, standing out against the propeller accessory in her hair and her bright blue eyes.

"Skyla?" Ash asked aloud. "What're you doing here?"

"We knew you'd be coming here next. Imagine my surprise when Burgh called last night and said that he'd already been beaten by you, no later than a few hours after we heard you defeated Roxie." Elesa begun.

"So, Elesa called me and told me as much. We thought it might be fun to give you another kind of challenge since you seem to be bulldozing through the gym battles." Skyla continued. "I flew in this morning so Elesa and I could have our battles with you together, Raidyn."

"You mean I get to battle both of you at once?" Ash asked, pumping his fists. "Alright! Now we're talkin'! When can we start?"

The girls hummed in delight at their challengers' enthusiasm and Elesa nodded over to the field where a referee had made their way.

"As soon as your ready." Elesa teased, knowing the answer.

"I'm ready right now!" Ash cried, sprinting up the stairs to stand in the trainer box on his side of the room.

He looked out at the mass of people below, likely expecting him to lose to the combined strength of Unova's most famous fashion models. But he refused to give them the pleasure of showing any hint of nervousness at facing them both at the same time. It was there, certainly, but that's part of what made him so excited.

Raichu jumped down off his shoulder as he slung his bag down too, kneeling down to exchange a few Pokeballs. He clipped six new ones to the left side of his belt; ready for action as he noticed the two gym leaders take their place across from him. The ref pulled out their flags and began to announce the rules.

"This will be an official double gym-battle! Raidyn Stark, the challenger, is versing Unova's finest- Gym Leaders Elesa and Skyla! The Gym Leaders will only be allowed the use of three Pokemon each, while the challenger may use up to six. Once all of either side Pokemon is unable to continue on, a winner will be announced! Trainers, choose your Pokemon and begin your battle!" They called out.

"Dazzle them, Eelektross!" Elesa cried, releasing her Pokemon.

"To the skies, Braviary!" Skyla summoned in sync.

Eelektross and Braviary appeared in harmony, landing and screeching out their power before they posed. Ash smiled, taking a Pokeball in each hand.

"Noctowl, Torterra, I choose you!" Ash called.

Torterra landed with a mighty roar of its own and a thud on the battlefield. Noctowl, on the other hand, chirped quietly as it sparkled elegantly before landing silently on Torterra's back. They were both ready for a fight, Ash could tell. Torterra especially wanted to battle someone besides his teammates again.

"Oh wow, your Noctowl has different colors than mine! Where did you catch it? It's so cool looking and-" Skyla started before Elesa held one hand over her mouth.

"First move is all yours." Elesa offered him, waving her other hand. He nodded.

"Don't mind if we do." Ash stated confidently. "Noctowl, **Air Slash** on Braviary!" He commanded.

Noctowl flapped her wings; sending multiple sky blue saw disc-like energy blades flying towards the eagle-like Pokemon. Skyla didn't seem worried.

"Shield yourself with **Steel Wing**!" She cried.

Braviary's wings shined as they were coated in metal then brought around its own form, cocooning itself inside the steel-type attack and letting Noctowl's attack only push it back some. Otherwise, it was completely unharmed.

"Go in, Braviary!" Skyla shouted.

Braviary emerged from its cocoon and charged forward at Noctowl.

"Eelektross, **ThunderBolt** when it dives!" Elesa ordered.

"Dodge up, get behind Torterra!" Ash yelled out.

"Follow it!" They both cried out in return.

Noctowl dodged the **Steel Wing** by moving up, giving herself enough time to fly over to her battle partner while Eelektross tried to re-aim its electrical attack. As expected, it didn't even both Torterra. Braviary tried harder, swooping around but Noctowl flew through Torterra's tree, baiting Braviary into a chase.

"Braviary don't-" Skyla started, but it was too late. It had taken the bait.

" **Leaf Storm** , quick!" Ash said enthusiastically.

The tree on Torterra's back started to glow light green just before an enormous flurry of leaves also glowing light green swirled out in a vortex, throwing Braviary from inside and sending both the leaves and the bird at Eelektross. The Elefish Pokemon managed to dodge a lot of leaves, but not Braviary's incoming form.

"Hit 'em with **Extrasensory** , Noctowl!" Ash continued.

Noctowl's eyes glowed gold and it chirped, opening its beak to shoot a circular, multicolored beam straight at the two downed Pokemon. It surrounded them, letting them be lifted into the air when they started struggling.

"Break free, **Brave Bird**!" Skyla ordered.

" **Flamethrower**!" Elesa followed.

Braviary flapped its wings fiercely, coating itself in a light blue aura before it flew at Noctowl, breaking through the **Extrasensory** easily with its newfound armor. The **Flamethrower** , meanwhile, was heading straight at Torterra.

"Torterra, help Noctowl out! **Rock Climb**!" Ash countered.

Torterra roared, its claws elongated and glowed as it stood briefly on its back legs and slammed back down, cracking open the ground with its landing. A pillar erupted forth, shooting up to hit Braviary in the underbelly before it could slam into Noctowl and taking the brunt of the flame assault. Torterra moved fast, much faster than a Torterra had any right to, and climbed the rock pillar, slamming its whole weight into the Valiant Pokemon.

"Eelektross, **Flash Cannon**!" Elesa ordered.

Eelektross ran forward, stopping at the base of the pillar and shot the white-ish blue beam upwards, aiming at the owl-like Pokemon that hovered still the air.

"Braviary, **Superpower**!" Skyla ordered.

Braviary's body was surrounded in a blue light before it squawked loudly, shoving Torterra off of its body and pushing it down the mountain it had created. Torterra fell as Noctowl was struck in the chest with the steel-type attack, ending up embedded in the wall for a few moments.

"Flip yourself, Torterra, land with an **Earthquake**!" Ash cried out worriedly. "And Noctowl, **Psychic**! Send Braviary down!"

Noctowl, now flapping her wings again, chirped and let her eyes glow blue, surrounding Braviary in the same type of energy. Then, she threw the larger flying-type down at Eelektross, who was retreating from Torterra's falling form. For his part, Torterra roared again and managed to flip himself over a little, enough to land on two legs at least and let the earth shake when the other two came down next.

Eelektross and Braviary, both being piled up on the ground, felt the full force of the move. Elesa and Skyla grit their teeth, watching as they both shakily stood up. Noctowl, meanwhile, rested peacefully on Torterra's shell, albeit panting heavily. The **Earthquake** had let the rock pillar in the center of the field crumble now; letting both sides see clear across the field.

The girls looked at each other, nodding, before they turned back to their Pokemon.

" **Crush Claw**!" They shouted in unison.

A red aura formed over both Eelektross' hands and Braviary's talons, sharpening to a pointy claw-like shape. Then, both rushed to the other side of the field eager to slice into their opponents. Ash balled his fists. He didn't know how to play this one yet, not without knowing who they were each targeting. He needed to play safe.

"Noctowl, dodge! Torterra, brace yourself and get ready!" Ash cried.

Noctowl chirped, flying eagerly away from Torterra. Ash wasn't sure whether to be worried or relieved when he heard Skyla shout after,

"Braviary, after Noctowl!"

Braviary pulled off, swooping upwards to chase Noctowl in circles while Eelektross brought its glowing fists down on Torterra's hard shell repeatedly. Torterra held strong, barely wincing at the attacks and opening its maw, revealing the **Crunch** attack it had been secretly charging up and biting down on Eelektross' tail and began to vigorously shake its head.

Meanwhile, Noctowl was panting even harder, dodging all of Braviary's strikes so far was exhausting.

"Just one more Noctowl, get behind it!" Ash encouraged.

Noctowl's resolve steeled and it side-stepped (side-fluttered?) the next attempt as well, moving to get above and behind Braviary. She knew what Ash wanted and let the top of her head glow a reflective blue, signifying the use of **Zen Headbutt**. Immediately, she threw her weight downward at Braviary's back and sent her opponent crashing into the ground.

"Braviary, no!" Skyla cried out worriedly.

"Eelektross, **Flash Cannon**!" Elesa ordered growing tired of the endless shaking her electric-type was being committed to.

Eelektross fired its **Flash Cannon** again, nailing Torterra's shell this time. Then, it decided that wasn't enough and fired another **Flamethrower** , scorching Torterra's back enough to make him release his powerful jaws from around its tail, allowing the electric-type to land and scurry back to Elesa's side of the field.

"Keep it up, guys, Noctowl use **Extrasensory**!" Ash continued.

The round vortex of yellow light emitted from Noctowl's beak once more, sliding across the field like a tractor beam until it landed on Eelektross, lifting the Elefish Pokemon up again. Skyla attempted to help, but that's what Ash was counting on.

" **Steel Wing** on Noctowl!" Skyla shouted.

Braviary attempted to circle around the psychic-type attack and plow into Noctowl, but Ash was clever.

"Throw Eelektross up, then get behind Torterra!" Ash told her.

Noctowl nodded, throwing the electric-type into the ceiling as she did so and rushing forward to hide behind her partner once again. Braviary followed once more, but failed to notice Eelektross falling from the sky. It landed roughly on the Valiant Pokemon's back, jarring its flight and sending it into an almost downward spiral.

They righted themselves eventually, Braviary carrying Eelektross straight at Torterra.

"Perfect," Ash said, surprising everyone in the room. "Hit 'em with a **Stone Edge**!"

The room collectively gasped as one, watching as blue pillars broke through the ground in a path straight to the two gym leaders Pokemon. Braviary tried to shield them both with its still activated **Steel Wing** , but it was no use against the strong rock attack and certainly not with Eelektross limiting its maneuverability. They were tossed upwards with the rock, slamming into the ceiling forcefully before falling limply, crashing into the ground.

Nobody was surprised when the dust cleared and they were unable to battle. Elesa and Skyla were already recalling their Pokemon when the ref made the call.

"Eelektross and Braviary are unable to continue battling! Raidyn is the winner of this round! Gym Leaders, select your next Pokemon!" They called out.

"Dazzle them, Emolga!"/"To the skies, Archeops!" Elesa and Skyla summoned in sync with one another.

Emolga and Archeops appeared next to each other, both floating in front of their trainers. That didn't last long, though, since it was their turn to move first.

* * *

"Just before you got here I was reading about some more Spearow and Fearow habitats that we could potentially cover. There are a couple places that look promising, since Spearow and Fearow can be found in nearly every region." Gary explained to Leaf, who nodded. "Now tell me, how'd you catch those legendary Pokemon without, ya know, ruining the world?"

Leaf blushed in what Gary knew to be embarrassment.

"There are a few I actually did manage to capture, you know." Leaf said grumpily. Gary's eyes narrowed.

"'Actually' managed to capture?" He repeated sternly. Leaf just winked. "Leaf, what's going on?"

"I didn't actually need to catch them to scan them into the Green-Dex, see, because all I needed was a Pokemon that could become them." Leaf said playfully. "My Ditto's Imposter ability put to good work. All I needed to do was touch it to him when he transformed and it logged the species as captured." She sighed sadly. "I only did that with certain Pokemon, though. Lugia, Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza so far and I'm afraid I'll have to do the same thing with the Creation Trio soon."

Gary shook his head in disbelief and amusement. Well, that was certainly one way to do it. Then again, could anyone really be expected to catch every single Pokemon and _not_ ruin the entire world? That only happened in stuff like video games.

"Don't worry Leaf, your secret is safe with me." Gary assured her. "I knew you couldn't beat a Rayquaza anyway." He added smugly. "The legendary birds and beasts maybe, Celebi possibly, but the Weather Trio?"

Leaf playfully slapped his arm, giggling as she did so. She didn't want to cheat like that, but what else could she do? It wasn't like she could keep Kyogre and Groudon stuffed in her satchel without the ruining the balance of the world. The Pokemon that there were multiples of were one thing, but catching deities was another.

"So, where to next Gary?" Leaf asked, changing the subject.

Gary stood up and smiled widely, knowing that meant she would be tagging along. Which was perfect for him, he had a long trip ahead. After he cleared it with his gramps, of course, but he shouldn't have any problems with it.

"Pack your bags, girlie, we're heading to Johto!" Gary proclaimed excitedly.

* * *

"Emolga, **Aerial Ace**!" Elesa ordered.

" **Dragon Claw**!" Skyla added.

Emolga flew quickly through the air, slicing it up and creating white streaks behind it while the claws on the end of one of Archeops' wings glowed a light green before the energy expanded, forming a giant claw and it followed Emolga's lead and charged its opponents.

"Noctowl, **Extrasensory**! Stop Archeops!" Ash cried.

Archeops was a bigger threat to Torterra. He was confident Torterra could handle them both, but he needed to create those circumstances. Noctowl chirped, shooting its psychic-type attack at Archeops and sweeping it up inside the vortex.

"Archeops, **Rock Slide**!" Skyla countered.

"Emolga, **Double Team**!" Elesa shouted.

Archeops righted itself as best it could before it let giant boulders begin to start falling from the sky from white ripples that had formed across the field. Emolga, meanwhile, had multiplied itself to have a better chance of avoiding damage from the falling rocks. Ash, however, wasn't so lucky.

"Noctowl, watch out! Left, up, left again! Go right, quickly!" Ash did his best to guide Noctowl through the falling rocks while watching Torterra bounce them off his shell.

"Emolga, **ThunderBolt**!" Elesa ordered.

" **Psychic** , redirect it towards Torterra!" Ash countered.

Emolga shot a bolt of yellow electricity that was intent on striking Noctowl's chest, but it was coated in a blue aura before it could meet with the bird. Then, Noctowl controlled it enough to change its direction, sending it down at Torterra where it had no effect. Unfortunately, it looked like this was expected.

"Now Archeops, **Head Smash**!" Skyla cried out.

From behind Noctowl, Archeops cried out and rushed forward, surrounding itself in a reddish-white aura that made it look black and white while inside of it and crashed into the Johto bird Pokemon, sending it crashing down into the ground while it flapped its wings victoriously. Not seconds later, the ref made the call.

"Noctowl is unable to battle! Will the challenger please select another Pokemon?" They cried out.

"Noctowl thanks a lot girl. You did amazing, so take a nice rest, 'kay?" Ash complimented, recalling the shiny Pokemon. He quickly chose his next Pokemon, tossing the next 'ball on his belt into the air. "Hawlucha, I choose you!"

The crowd below gasped in sync with the female gym leaders. Elesa and Skyla shared a look. Was he serious? They couldn't tell. Hawlucha had to be literally the worst choice, right? It's types made it weak to both electric _and_ flying types. What was Raidyn thinking?

Ash, though, had a plan. And, as usual, it involved throwing everyone off. Hawlucha posed a few times, showing off for the crowd, before Ash called to him.

"Hawlucha, **Karate Chop**!" He said, pointing at Archeops.

Hawlucha nodded, understanding right away. He turned and ran towards Torterra, launching off his shell into a back spring while one of his arms glowed white. Catching it off guard seemed to work because before anyone knew what happened, Hawlucha's glowing arm crashed down on Archeops' skull and sent it down to the ground.

"Emolga, **ThunderBolt** again!" Elesa cried.

Emolga's cheeks sparked as it shot more electricity up at Hawlucha, assuming it was defenseless. However, everyone was surprised when Hawlucha merely spun out of the way and began twirling down like a torpedo.

"Now, add in a **Poison Jab**!" Ash commanded.

Both Hawlucha's hands glowed purple, activating the use of the poison-type move as it torpedoed down directly towards Emolga. Elesa, however, refused to let it hit.

" **Electro Ball**!" Elesa cried out.

" **Energy Ball!** " Ash countered, hoping to stop the electric-type sphere.

"No you don't, **Dragon Claw**!" Skyla ordered suddenly.

Everything happened at once.

Torterra's **Energy Ball** was sliced open by **Dragon Claw** before it got the chance to intercept the **Electro Ball** , letting it hit Hawlucha dead on and sending it flying backwards, crashing onto the ground mere feet from where Archeops had just landed. Knowing they had to keep momentum, Elesa continued attacking.

"Move in with **Aerial Ace**!" Elesa instructed. Skyla nodded.

"You too, **Aerial Ace**!" She followed.

Both opposing flying-types sliced through the air, rushing forward at Ash's two Pokemon. Ash frowned. Just as before with **Crush Claw**. They really liked their tandem attacks. Last time Skyla had peeled off while Elesa went for Torterra, which would be beneficial again now. Archeops was still the bigger threat to Torterra, who he knew had plenty of fight left in him.

"Hawlucha, **Bounce** and come down with **High Jump Kick**! Aim for Archeops!" Ash ordered.

Hawlucha nodded, leaping up with fervor and going almost as high as the building was tall. On his way down, he put his glowing kneecap in front of him and twisted, aiming straight for Archeops' back. Archeops', however, swerved left and climbed upwards towards the Wrestling Pokemon.

Just in the knick of time, he managed to turn himself so his knee was between himself and Archeops before the fossil Pokemon slammed into his side, causing them to both take heaps of damage and send them flying apart after the draw of powerful attacks. Emolga, meanwhile, had struck Torterra's tree before landing peacefully on the part of the shell right above the head.

"Give it an **Air Slash** , Emolga!" Elesa cried.

Emolga nodded, moving upward slightly to be right in front of Torterra's face and sent more saw blade like discs at the Continent Pokemon's back. Both Ash and Torterra, though, noticed an opening. Emolga's tail was hanging right in front of its face.

Both trainer and Pokemon smirked, acting in sync.

" **Crunch**!" Ash said, but Torterra was already finished executing the attack when Ash finished his exclamation.

Torterra's glowing jaws clamped down on Emolga's bushy tail hard before slamming the little squirrel-like Pokemon down into the ground. It was no surprise to anyone when it didn't get back up. However, just as the ref raised a flag, small bolts of electricity danced around Torterra as it groaned out, uncomfortable all of the sudden.

Ash's eyes narrowed. Torterra had become paralyzed.

"Emolga is unable to battle! Leader Elesa, select your next Pokemon!" They announced.

"Dazzle them, Zebstrika!" Elesa called out her star Pokemon. Zebstrika stomped the ground, ready to go.

"Archeops, **Steel Wing** on Torterra!" Skyla ordered.

"Hawlucha, block it with **Karate Chop**!" Ash countered.

Hawlucha and Archeops quickly entered a dance of flashes, both parrying each other expertly. Archeops' steel-coated wings clanged against Hawlucha's muscle-y arms, both fighting to overcome the other. The difference was that Hawlucha was fighting to protect his friend. Thinking quickly, he blocked Archeops' right wing with his left arm before yanking it backwards, crossing Archeops' wings together. Then using his right arm, he used a **Drain Punch** , throwing the other avian Pokemon backwards a lot.

" _Thanks,"_ Torterra muttered over to Hawlucha. _"I couldn't move at all there for a minute."_

Hawlucha only nodded for now. He'd talk more after the battle.

" **Flame Charge**!" Elesa shouted next.

"Hawlucha, jump! Torterra, **Earthquake**!" Ash yelled.

Hawlucha jumped up, gliding over to land on Torterra who had begun to make the earth tremble once again and stopping Zebstrika's charging in its tracks.

"Archeops, go in with **Acrobatics**!"

"And Zebstrika switch to **Double Kick**!"

Archeops glowed blue and seemed to disappear, reappearing at Hawlucha's side quick enough to catch him by surprise and slamming into him, throwing the Wrestling Pokemon off Torterra's back. Zebstrika, on the other hand, recovered as best it could from the **Earthquake** and charged again before turning to pivot around and smacking its hind legs into Torterra's face.

"Go into **Overheat**!" Elesa continued.

"Torterra, **Stone Edge Climb**! Hawlucha, **Bounce** into **Flying Press**!" Ash yelled out hurriedly.

Torterra roared and stomped two feet down again, claws glowing, while Zebstrika was shining red already. The blue pillar of **Stone Edge** appeared instead of a simple rock pillar, holding Zebstrika on it peacefully while Torterra raced to the top, knocking the Thunderbolt Pokemon off with its body weight just before it erupted, shooting a swirling ball of fire up at Torterra on top of the pillar.

Meanwhile, Hawlucha had jumped up above the smoke expertly before it was outlined in white and dived down towards Archeops, smacking into the First Bird Pokemon. Dust was blown everywhere across the field and the whole room held their breath to see the outcome. Everyone was moderately surprised when Archeops was the only one who had not gotten up.

Torterra had been lowered from his **Stone Edge** platform, grunting in pain while Hawlucha was keeled over catching is breath and Zebstrika rose on shaky hooves but Archeops barely twitched while it laid on the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Archeops is unable to battle! Leader Skyla, send out your last Pokemon!" The ref called again.

Skyla nodded, quickly recalling Archeops with a 'thank you' and swapping its Pokeball for another.

"To the skies, Swanna!" Skyla cried, sending out her signature Pokemon.

"Hawlucha, **Karate Chop** on Swanna!" Ash ordered.

Hawlucha stood up, forcing his legs to move quickly as his arm glowed again. He jumped up high enough to slam his arm into Swanna since it didn't seem like Skyla was that worried about it taking a fighting-type attack. Luckily, that's what Ash was counting on.

"Switch to **Thunder Punch**!" Ash cried out suddenly.

Hawlucha's glowing arm switched rapidly, crackling with electricity instead before it jammed its fist into Swanna's abdomen. Swanna, however, wasn't as tired as Hawlucha was and managed to push back by throwing its weight forward.

"Swanna, use **Rain Dance**!" Skyla ordered.

Swanna nodded, squawking as dark clouds formed above the arena, swirling counter-clockwise and bringing down heavy rain on the battlefield. Torterra groaned again and Hawlucha's eyes narrowed, running back to stand in front of Torterra.

"Now **Hurricane** on Torterra!" She said happily.

Swanna nodded again, vigorously flapping its wings as they glowed light blue, sending powerful bursts of wind. In the rain, they traveled too fast for Ash to come up with a reliable plan.

"Hawlucha dodge, Torterra block with-" Ash started, but Hawlucha didn't move.

The Wrestling Pokemon had firmly planted his feet, turning his head only slightly to nod back to Ash and Torterra before he was pelted in the chest and stomach with the powerful flying-type attack, picking him up and twirling him around like a rag-doll before he was thrown into the wall, sliding down unconscious.

Ash ran out onto the field over to the wall with Raichu on his heels. They stopped at Hawlucha's side, smiling when he weakly opened his eyes.

"That was really dumb, Hawlucha." Ash told him. "But thank you, you took that attack for Torterra because you know how much winning this battle means to him, didn't you?"

Hawlucha only nodded.

" _All those losses back in Sinnoh really affected him, huh?"_ Raichu asked. Ash nodded, turning back to Hawlucha.

"Don't worry about a thing, buddy. You rest up for now, we'll win this one for you and all your hard work." Ash said, recalling Hawlucha ignoring the refs' cries as he moved back to his trainer box.

"Torterra, wanna take a break?" Ash asked. Torterra only turned its head minimally and shook it, answering no. Ash nodded, respecting the Continent Pokemon's wishes. "Then get ready, because we're about to win this! Floatzel, I choose you!"

Floatzel appeared beside Torterra, puffing its flotation sac proudly. Elesa and Skyla seemed to exchange looks before they nodded, turning back to the battle.

"Zebstrika, **Wild Charge**!"

"Swanna, **Brave Bird**!"

Zebstrika charged, its body crackling in electricity while Swanna flew in with its body cloaked in a light blue aura. Zebstrika was running at Torterra and Swanna flying at Floatzel, but halfway there they crisscrossed and switched targets expertly.

"Torterra, lift yourself with **Stone Edge**! Floatzel, **Counter Shield**!" Ash ordered, thinking quickly.

Torterra roared again, the blue pillars of stone returning this time only starting under the Sinnoh starter, lifting him up as they shot out across the field. Meanwhile, Floatzel was spinning on his back shooting streams of boiling hot water everywhere in the form of **Scald** , which managed to throw both Zebstrika and Swanna off course.

" **Thunder**!" Elesa cried out, knowing **Thunder** couldn't miss in the heavy rain and Floatzel had no chance of getting to Torterra before getting struck.

" **Ice Beam**!" Skyla ordered after Swanna was flying correctly again. Quickly, Swanna looped around the blue pillar flying to Torterra's height.

"Ground yourself, **Iron Tail**!" Ash ordered quickly, turning to Torterra. "Torterra, grab it with **Giga Drain**!"

Floatzel stopped spinning immediately, swiftly standing up and slamming his forked, glowing tail into the ground with barely seconds before Zebstrika's giant bolt of electricity struck him. Everyone minus his trainer and teammates were astonished when the **Thunder** passed harmlessly through his body and through his tail, flowing into the ground.

Elsewhere, the spikes on Torterra's back glowed green and matching energy beams extended past their tops, reaching out to grab Swanna. The White Bird Pokemon only managed to dodge one before the other two constricted on it, pulling it in and sapping its energy.

"Zebstrika, help Swanna with **Overheat**!" Elesa ordered.

"Swanna, break free with **Brave Bird**!" Skyla cried out.

Torterra grunted, trying to hold onto Swanna to desperately gain health back while the powerful flying-type attack let it push the duck-like Pokemon further and further towards Torterra's face. Suddenly, the vortex of fire shot from Zebstrika struck its side, causing it to cry out and release Swanna from its **Giga Dram** , taking a **Brave Bird** to the top of the shell.

The stone pillars began to retreat and Torterra knew he was done. He wasn't strong enough, again. Just like back in the Sinnoh League. In a last ditch effort, he tried to use **Crunch** but he felt his paralysis act up again, flinching as he raised his head. He wished the electricity would just go away! Why couldn't he make it useful like Raichu does?

He shook his head, refusing to be done in, powering through his paralysis this time. Just as **Crunch** landed on Swanna's foot that was dangling in front of his face, he tried again to will the paralysis away. He felt the crackling again, but it was moving this time up to his face. Before he knew what happened, thunder sprang from his jaws.

Torterra was lowered to the ground, mouth giving off jolts of electricity before they turned into full on bolts, engulfing Swanna. Everyone was too stunned to move, watching the scene in fascination. Then Torterra moved again, shaking his head to throw Swanna back into a wall, unconscious.

Nobody moved at all until Ash spoke.

"Torterra… did you- did you just use **Thunder Fang**?" Ash asked, amazed. Torterra weakly nodded, equally confused.

"Well, as amazing as that was," Elesa started. "The battle isn't over yet. Zebstrika, **Wild Charge**!"

Zebstrika charged again in a mass of yellow electricity, but Ash was confident.

"Floatzel, **Dig**!" He shouted, leaving Torterra as the only available target.

Zebstrika stopped before making contact, knowing it wouldn't affect the larger Pokemon, but when it planted itself Floatzel jumped upwards, knocking it back.

"Now **Aqua Jet**!" Ash continued.

"Dodge it!" Elesa tried to shout, but it was no use.

In the rain, Floatzel's Swift Swim let it move faster than Zebstrika did even with the earlier speed boost from **Flame Charge** and the water torpedo that was Floatzel struck Zebstrika's side, sending it flying back while the water-type attack curved upwards and Floatzel emerged in mid-air, ready to go still.

But Zebstrika could not.

"Zebstrika is unable to battle! Since the Gym Leaders Elesa and Skyla have lost all of their Pokemon, the winner is the challenger, Raidyn Stark!" The ref called, shaking themselves from their stupor.

Ash and Raichu ran onto the field, Ash hugging Torterra around the head tightly while Raichu launched onto his back and scurried over to his head.

"Torterra, you were amazing! You did so great!" Ash praised, opening his other arm for Floatzel who rolled his eyes but stepped closer, nuzzling Ash.

" _Yeah, that was so cool! How'd you use **Thunder Fang** like that?" _ Raichu asked happily.

Torterra would've blushed if he could've, but was cut off from answering by the approach of the gym leaders.

"That was an, ah, interesting battle Raidyn." Skyla offered her hand. Ash shook it respectfully, backing off Torterra.

"Yes, it seems everyone else wasn't kidding when they said you were special." Elesa continued, shaking his hand next.

"Thanks a lot, guys. We had a blast, didn't we?" Ash asked, glancing back at Torterra and Floatzel.

" _You bet!"_ Floatzel agreed happily.

" _It was fun."_ Torterra grunted his agreement.

"I have to ask, though. How did your Torterra use **Thunder Fang**?" Elesa asked, confused. Ash only shrugged.

"I've got no idea, to tell you the truth. We're just as confused as you are." Ash told her.

Elesa and Skyla shared a skeptical look, but nodded their piece.

"Anyway, we better get going. Raichu and I planned on getting to Driftveil City today." Ash told them. Raichu showed his agreement by jumping off Torterra and onto Ash's shoulder, grinning. "Thanks a lot for the tag gym battle, it was the best battle we've had in a long time." He said, quickly recalling Floatzel and Torterra.

"Raidyn, do us a favor?" Skyla said before he could leave. Ash turned around, confused. "Let us know if you ever figure out what happened with Torterra."

"Sure thing," Ash nodded his promise. "We'll figure it out soon enough."

Then, Ash and Raichu departed from the Nimbassa City gym ignoring the lingering eyes of Elesa, Skyla and the crowd on their backs. Elesa and Skyla exchanged another glance, this time out of confusion.

"Doesn't he kind of remind you of someone?" Skyla said to Elesa, who shrugged.

"I thought so too," She started, playing back their entrance earlier. "But I can't quite put my finger on it."

* * *

Barely two hours later, Paul had parted with Aerodactyl. The fossil Pokemon had seemed not to have any issue with being traded and seemed excited at the prospect of using whatever a 'Z-Move' was. He hadn't bothered to ask the trainer, too focused on learning more about the new Pokemon he had just acquired.

Turtonator, it was called, and was a dual fire/dragon-type from the Alola Region, a section of islands located in the middle of basically nowhere. The only real location indicator he had gotten from the man was that it was in the southwestern hemisphere, miles and miles below Fiore.

He didn't really need to know much else after he had scanned the Blast Turtle Pokemon, learning about its stats and move set. Turtonator seemed happy enough to come along with the promise of becoming the strongest it could be, strong enough to combat champions one day. Hell, it might be one day soon because the Pokedex indicated that he had just as much experience as his Aggron, which was a force to be reckoned with itself.

All in all, Paul considered that a win. He would start battling with Turtonator tomorrow, after letting it adjust to its new trainer and teammates for the night. Normally, he'd battle right away as a way to get introduced, but Turtonator seemed like too peaceful a Pokemon for that to be the correct way to go about introductions. If he was more like his feisty brat of a Tyrunt, then maybe, but it wasn't mean to be.

Maybe he could catch Soledad by surprise with his new battler tomorrow, anyway.

* * *

Ash and Raichu were booking it for a few minutes after they left the Pokemon Center. Joy had healed his battle-weary Pokemon quick enough, and they had naturally set out straight away. They slowed to a stop just outside of the town on Route Five, slowing down to talk a little while they crossed the drawbridge. If the bridge had been lowered, they would walk. It wasn't that much slower than flying considering the distance between Nimbassa and Driftveil.

"What do you think happened back there?" Ash asked Raichu.

" _I really don't know,"_ Raichu started. _"One minute Torterra's getting hammered by Brave Bird, the next he's learning **Thunder Fang**. It doesn't make any sense."_

"I know what you mean, Torterra can't even learn **Thunder Fang**." Ash muttered in response. He felt Raichu move around.

" _Well,"_ He started. _"Who's to say he can't? Humans couldn't possibly tell everything about any individual species of Pokemon, right? Most people would think a Pikachu couldn't beat up a Dragonite, Tyranitar, Metagross, Regice and Latios but I did all of that stuff."_ Raichu explained.

Ash hummed in thought. That was true enough. If there was anything he learned over the course of his journey it was that there was always more surprises ahead, especially when you thought you had seen everything already. In a weird way, he should've expected something like this.

" _But,"_ Raichu started again. _"Did you notice that after he used **Thunder Fang** , he stopped sparking?"_

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, confused. He didn't notice much after that, eager to end the match and check on Torterra's condition. He had hung in there so long, all Ash wanted was for him to be okay.

" _Torterra was paralyzed by Emolga's Static, right?"_ Raichu started. Ash nodded. He remembered that. _"I could feel it, being an electric-type myself. I could sense the electricity that was affecting Torterra's muscles and movements the whole time, like I can sense other electric-type attacks or electric-fields."_ He paused, letting Ash nod again. _"After Torterra used **Thunder Fang** , I couldn't sense any more electricity inside him. He cured the paralysis himself."_

Ash hummed, intrigued by the interesting theory.

"I see what you mean. So you think Torterra's **Thunder Fang** was a result of being paralyzed?" Ash asked. "I guess it could be, but you've been burned plenty of times and you can't use **Fire Punch** or anything." He paused. "Can you?"

" _No,"_ Raichu replied, also pausing. _"At least, I don't think I can."_

Ash and Raichu exchanged confused looks, interested, and stopped walking.

"What do you say we let Torterra out and talk about this a little more, huh? We'll see what happens and hopefully we'll still make Driftveil by nightfall." Ash proposed, unclipping Torterra's Pokeball already as Raichu jumped to the ground eagerly.

" _Works for me."_ Raichu said, watching Torterra materialize again.

Ash threw his bag down against a tree before he ran to sit down with Raichu and Torterra, excited over the prospect of what had just transpired.

* * *

 **Bam, done! Chapter Eleven in the books, guys!**

 **I hope you liked it, I think I had about four different versions of that battle floating through my head at once. Ultimately, I liked this one the best because it flowed the best but let me know what you guys thought about it, both the battle and the fact that it was a tag-battle!**

 **I hope I managed to do your idea justice, Vital Info, this chapters dedicated to you!**

 **Sorry about not showing off another companion in this one, but I kind of got sidetracked with everything that was happening here. Do you guys like my little fake-out for Leaf catching those legendries? Come on, nobody should ever walk around with deities like the Weather and Creation trio on their belts! I'm highly against giving most anyone legendries at all, but the anime has shown us that certain ones are plausible to own and for Leaf's goal to be taken serious I needed something to give it some backbone.**

 **And what about Paul this chapter, guys? He's the first person revealed in this story to own a Gen VII Pokemon! That's my way of saying yes; they will be in this story! Not everyone will have one or know about the Alola region or all it's customs, but it very much exists in this story!**

 **Ash won't have his Alola Pokemon in this story, but he does have one Gen VII Pokemon with him. Any guesses, because we'll be seeing it soon!**

 **Now that that's done, onto your reviews!**

* * *

 **Alpha:** _ **Calm down, friend. I explained in this chapter that it wasn't the real Weather Trio and that it wouldn't be the real Creation Trio either.**_

 **Vital Info:** _ **Thanks, I put a lot of thought into who Ash's mainstay Pokemon would be and I ultimately decided it would be those six. Not to say that the likes of Infernape, Snorlax and Krookodile aren't also immensely powerful and more than capable of beating legendary Pokemon too (depending on the scenario of course). I did retcon the end of XYZ but that was done since the first chapter pretty much since the Kalos League never finished and yes, Garchomp is indeed the little Gible Ash once had and unfortunately, he hasn't quite grown out of that yet. As for Primeape, who could forget such a loveable guy like him?**_

 _ **Thanks again, I really put everything I had into those battles and really tried to show off that Ash wasn't the only one who had grown as a trainer which goes back to my whole 'the world kept going when Ash disappeared' thing that bothers me so much in other fics. Soledad certainly wouldn't have slacked either, so in the end I decided to let her show off by tying with Paul, who so far has been dominating everyone ever since the DP anime.**_

 _ **I haven't decided if we'll hear from Domino at all, but it's not out of the realm of possibility!**_

 _ **Right now, I'm torn between Rampardos and Aurorus for Cynthia's fossil. We already discussed the timeline more in depth privately, but I'll certainly keep Ash vs. (Legendary Pokemon) in mind for later. That's an interesting idea. As for the GS ball, I certainly can't make any promises but it's something that I will think more on and see if there's any place in the story for such an addition.**_

 **Sovereign2080:** _ **I'm sorry you feel that way and I certainly won't fault you for skimming through, but I can't say that I'll change the way I write the battles. It's much more interesting and fun and believable for real people to battle with strange tactics and maneuvers and making it move like the games where anything super effective turns into a 1 or 2HKO would be pretty boring.**_

 _ **As for the length, I realize that I've got a hefty story in front of me that I'm willing to continue with if enough people will read it. If you just mean too many chapters for one story, I may consider splitting it up into different arcs if that makes things easier but I also don't have any intention on changing the plot anytime soon.**_

 **Voltage-Livewire:** _ **Thanks for the compliment, I do try my best to make the battles engaging and exciting to read while showing off everyone's skills. As for the chapter length, noted. And the companions? Well, that's a really good guess, actually…**_

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Next time, Gary and Leaf head out to Johto, more on Torterra, Paul battles someone else probably who knows anymore, Team Rocket appears again and Ash's _ Region traveling friends appear in Chapter Twelve: Johto, Huh?**


	12. Johto, Huh?

A Hero's Rebirth

Chapter Twelve: Johto, Huh?

* * *

"So, what, you felt like you wanted the Paralysis to be useful? And then it was?" Ash asked incredulously.

" _That's the best I can tell you, Ash. I wanted to be useful, prove to myself that I had gotten stronger and I wished I could make use of the static like Raichu does, since it was the paralysis that stopped me from using **Crunch**. After that, next thing I know my mouth is spurting out electric bolts." _ Torterra told him again.

Ash and Raichu looked at each other, equally intrigued.

" _Can you, I don't know, do it again?"_ Raichu asked him. Torterra seemed to shrug as best he could for a turtle-like Pokemon with no shoulders.

Torterra bit with its jaws, opening and closing them attempting to use **Thunder Fang** like before. There was no sparks like before, and this time it appeared like the Continent Pokemon was munching on a fruit that wasn't there.

"Use **Crunch** and see if that helps." Ash suggested.

Torterra nodded, jaw glowing white as teeth grew. It chomped down again repeatedly, but there was no yellow glow or sparks. Torterra seemed to sweat-drop in sync with Ash and Raichu.

"Are you picturing yourself doing it again? Making use of the electricity?" Ash asked.

Torterra grunted.

"Yeah, then I'll bet it only happened because you were paralyzed at the time. Raichu said he thought your paralysis went away after that, is that true?" Ash asked next.

" _Yeah, I think so. Now that you mention it, after I released all that electricity it was a lot easier to move around."_ Torterra replied after a beat.

Ash nodded. He guessed he hadn't really noticed because he was ordering Floatzel around to win the match rather than Torterra, too worried for the dual-types condition to try something else but knowing how insulting it would've been to call off the match or substitute him.

"And you," Ash started, turning to face Raichu. "If you picture yourself using **Fire Punch**?"

" _No luck so far, Ash."_ Raichu reported back. Ash only nodded.

"Well, I guess that's good enough for now." He said, standing up. "We'll think more about what to do once we get to Driftveil, alright?" He double-checked. They both nodded, Raichu jumping down off Torterra as he was recalled with one last thanks.

" _I guess we'd better get going if we want to eat dinner in the city again."_ Raichu said as Ash slung on his bag.

"Guess so. It would've been nice to figure out a bit more, though." Ash said, letting Raichu spring onto his shoulder as he continued walking. He felt Raichu's nod.

" _If only there was someone we could ask about this. We've seen a lot of stuff, but explaining and understanding it was never our jobs. Too bad we can't just call Professor Oak like before, huh?"_ Raichu mumbled.

"Call Professor Oak?" Ash repeated quietly, before he broke into a grin. "Raichu, you're a genius!" He told his partner while starting to sprint towards the drawbridge before Raichu could even let out a startled, 'I know'.

* * *

"Boy, am I glad that's over." Leaf muttered as she and Gary trekked across Cinnabar Island.

They had gotten Professor Oak's blessing rather easily that morning to go hunting for more possible Fearowite in Johto, more specifically routes 47 and 48, just west of Cianwood City. They were routes known to be the home of some of the highest-level wild Fearow in the Johto Region and were a much less treacherous terrain than Seavault Canyon.

Only, the only airport in Kanto was on Cinnabar Island.

Vermillion had a port, like a few other places around the region did, but none of the other major cities had enough room in or nearby to hold an airport itself. Viridian came close, but was too heavily surrounded by forest on all sides for planes to take off from. Thus, the Cinnabar Airport was born.

They had gotten there swiftly, Gary getting his Alakazam to **Teleport** them over. It was more than powerful enough to do so, but with an extra person it took more energy and longer to actually teleport. Add in the fact that Leaf hated teleporting? Equals bad day for Gary.

"It was the quickest way here and you know it, or would you rather hike to Fuchsia City and then ferry over? I'd be in Johto by the time you got even halfway there." Gary sort-of joked.

You could get from Cinnabar to Pallet, but not vice versa. The currents were much too strong for just any old boat to fight through, and it was much easier going with it than against it. Usually only the bigger ships tried, but even then it took longer since they were fighting against the wind and water.

Not only that, Gary could've actually been about halfway to Johto by the time Leaf hiked over to Fuchsia City. Leaf only huffed at Gary's teasing as they made their way over to the hangers.

They weren't flying commercial today, there had been no flights out to Olivine for another two days and they both decided they couldn't wait that long. Theoretically, they could've flown in to Cherrygrove instead, but they already had to ferry from Olivine to Cianwood to get to where they wanted and they didn't want to put more distance than necessary between then and Route 47/48. So, between them and Oak, they had arranged to charter a propeller plane.

Soon enough, they arrived by the hanger in the back, opening the door slightly to see a line up of propeller planes on either side of the bunker.

"Are you the Oak party?" A man in a pilot suit asked, coming out of the shadows wiping his hands with a cloth.

"That's us; I'm Gary and this is Leaf." Gary introduced them, shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you folks. Names Louie, but you can just call me Captain." Captain said, chuckling as a Pidgey landed on his head. "And this is my co-pilot, Pilot." Pilot chirped happily.

Gary and Leaf smiled up at the bird happily, both at least a little amused with the bird, before Captain spoke again.

"So, you're flyin' out to Olivine City in Johto, huh?" Captain asked. Gary nodded.

"That's right, when do you think we can leave?" Gary asked back. Captain shrugged.

"Whenever you want, my boy. You're paying, I'm just flying." He replied easily.

"Could we get going right away, then? We'd like to get there as soon as we could." Leaf asked.

"Sure, I don't see why not. Get in; we'll take off in a few minutes. Just let me go get my goggles." Captain told them, gesturing to one of the many identical planes and leaving.

Gary and Leaf shared a look, neither of them quite knowing to which plane he was telling them to board. Unknown to them, a pair of coordinators were also well on their way to Olivine City, Johto.

* * *

"Raichu, **Iron Tail**!" Sho ordered his electric-type.

"Block it, **Iron Defense**." Paul simply countered.

The two had met on the battle deck not long ago and Paul remembered him as someone he'd seen Ash face way back when in the Sinnoh region. It didn't seem like Sho remembered him at all, but then again he hadn't made his presence known back then. They had settled on a quick one-on-one match while Paul got a feel for his newest addition.

Turtonator's shell glowed white as he turned, pointing his back at the incoming steel-type attack. Raichu's tail slammed against it, steel clinking against steel, before Raichu was forced to push off and land away. Sho refused to let Turtonator's great defense be the end of it, though.

"Get in close, Raichu, **Focus Punch**!" Sho continued.

Raichu's fist glowed a brilliant white as it ran forward, prepared to strike the Alolan Pokemon's shell.

" **Flamethrower** , on the ground." Paul ordered next.

Turtonator was confused, but obeyed and fired a torrent of flames downward at the ground between himself and Raichu. The Blast Turtle Pokemon was pleasantly surprised to see it had created a small wall of flames, intense enough to stop the charge of the electric-type. Sho, meanwhile, fell right into Paul's trap and focused too much on the exterior flames.

"Raichu, **Iron Tail** on the ground, put that fire out!" Sho told it.

Raichu nodded affirmatively, striking its glowing tail at the ground on an angle to kick up sand and dust to suffocate the small flames. It didn't take long for Raichu to make it halfway through the wall, but that's when Paul saw his chance to strike.

" **Dragon Pulse** , go." Paul commanded.

Turtonator quickly charged the beam of multicolored energy in its mouth, shooting it out and letting it turn into a dragon-shaped beam of energy that struck Raichu's midsection while it was preoccupied with the flames, sending it hurtling backwards to land on its back.

" **Flamethrower** , again." Paul refused to give Raichu a moments rest.

The **Flamethrower** attack struck the downed Raichu, kicking it back even further and scorching its fur a bit. There was a pause in the flow of the battle and Raichu didn't stand back up. Sho sighed, recalling Raichu while Paul nodded in satisfaction towards his Turtonator.

"That was a good start. We'll work on your reaction time later, but rest for now." Paul told his dual-type, letting it nod before recalling it. He and Sho merely nodded at each other, neither being much of one for congratulations, and went their separate ways.

For now, Paul was content on finding lunch and feeding his current team than finding another battle. He had battled twice already today, both with Turtonator, having kept his promise to wait a day to battle with the Blast Turtle Pokemon, who did not disappoint. Turtonator had proven himself to be rather powerful and easy to work with already, defeating both Sho's Raichu and another trainers Piloswine without too much difficulty each time.

He would make sure Turtonator got a match against Soledad before they docked in Unova.

* * *

Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet sat gathered around their coffee table staring at the envelope sitting at the center. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be any stranger than anything else they did and ordinarily, they wouldn't be this cautious about a letter.

But it was stamped shut with a big red 'R'.

Giovanni had reached out to them, or so it seemed, after his release from prison. They could only wonder why, but logically it made sense. He had thrown most of his elites to the wolves during his trial, so it was very unlikely that all of them would be eager to go back to working for him, especially with Team Rocket being gone for over a year now.

And they always were three of the most loyal recruits in the organization. Only, that was before they started working with Ash in his effort to bring down the crime lord. It seemed, however, that they were really good at being double agents because it didn't appear that Giovanni even knew what had happened or that they had, in fact, played a key role in his downfall.

"Well, go on, open it." Jessie said, gesturing to James, who shook his head viciously and crossed his arms defiantly.

"Absolutely not. Meowth, you do it." James ordered. Meowth flinched back, waving his arms dramatically.

"No way Hose. Jessie always wants to be da one in charge, let her open it." Meowth replied, pointing frantically at Jessie, who sweat dropped with a sigh.

"Fine, I'll do it but this is why I'm in charge- because I work with two cowards." Jessie quipped, picking the envelop off the table and slowly opening it. Immediately, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet gathering around, flanking her, to read it over her shoulders. She rolled her eyes, but continued to read it out loud nonetheless.

" _Rockets,_

 _Operation Rising Rocket is being put into effect. Gather any and all allies still loyal to the dream Team Rocket represents and get ready to reconvene, rebuilt and remodel. We will meet in the hidden cave behind the waterfall at Tohjo Falls in two days time; if you come, I know I can trust you._

 _-Giovanni"_

Jessie finished reading the letter and placed it back down on the table silently, glancing at James and Meowth.

"So," Jessie started, unsure. "Now what?"

The four all hummed in deep thought, going back to circling the coffee table the now-opened letter and wondering what they should do next.

* * *

"So, what're you folks looking to do in Olivine City?" Captain asked politely, glancing back from his position in the cockpit to glimpse Gary and Leaf.

"Well, once we land we're actually heading over to pass through Cianwood City." Leaf explained. Captain raised his eyebrows curiously, so Gary continued.

"You see, since I'm a Pokemon Researcher, my next project involves researching aspects of Mega Evolution, so my grandfather and I have been looking for previously undiscovered Mega Evolved forms." The young Oak informed Captain. "In particular, we've been looking at Fearow as a species with the potential to evolve further."

"That's quite the goal, young man." Captain acknowledged. "It's not every day new evolutions are discovered, especially something as rare as new Mega Evolutions."

Gary and Leaf nodded, both knowing how hard it would be to discover if Fearow could evolve further. Gary himself had been a part of multiple expeditions like this before, failing more than he succeeded, but there was a point when Mega Evolutions weren't thought possible at all before Professor Sycamore came along. Even after that, when everyone thought they knew all about Mega Evolution, even more Pokemon with the potential to evolve further were uncovered day after day for the longest time.

"We understand and we're prepared to search as long as it takes until we find definitive results." Gary replied. As a well-established researcher in his own right now, he was no stranger to disappointment.

"Either way, it'll be a fun trip. It's been forever since we've spent any time together, right Gary?" Leaf asked happily, nudging him with her elbow.

Gary nodded back at her, agreeing. It had been entirely too long since they had talked and, after Ash disappeared, there was always a part of Gary that was afraid she wasn't coming back either. That though terrified Gary even more, since he knew Ash was at least alive after supposedly dying and he would be dammed if anything short of god himself managed to kill Ash Ketchum at this point. The boy was too stubborn to even die.

Leaf, though, was not as immune to death as Gary thought Ash was. He was glad she had come back, even if it was only for a short period of time before she pranced off again like Gary knew she most likely would after a few weeks, if not days.

"You're not kidding." Gary replied instead of telling her how much he missed the days they and Ash would sit around talking for hours and hours. "Just when I thought I'd finally gotten rid of you."

"You should've known it wouldn't be that easy." Leaf replied with a quick wink before turning her attention to the window again, admiring the view.

Captain merely rolled his eyes. He would never understand kids today.

* * *

Ash and Raichu arrived in Driftveil City not much longer afterwards thanks to the years of practice the pair had gotten running for extended periods of time, although that did nothing to stop them from almost falling off the drawbridge in their excitement to reach their next destination.

" _Can you tell me what our plan is now that we're not moving at Mach 4?"_ Raichu teased, poking the left side of Ash's chest from the right shoulder with his extended tail. Ash ignored the prodding as he answered his best friend.

"Professor Oak does a radio show, remember? He reads poetry and all that junk, but he has to talk about his research and all at some point, right? He's too crazy about his research not to share it on his show." Ash reasoned now that he was walking at an average pace.

" _So, what, you're just going to hope he brings up the topic of Pokemon learning attacks people never thought possible?"_ Raichu asked curiously. Ash shrugged, careful not to disturb his squatter.

"It'd be nice, but I have no problem calling in and just asking. Worst thing that happens is I tell them my name is Raidyn Stark if they ask who's calling, right?" Ash reasoned. "There's nobody I'd rather ask about this than the Professor, except maybe Gary- but who knows where he is. Not like I can reach him using anything faster than a letter unless he's back in Pallet anyways."

" _I guess so, if there's anybody that would know what happened it's probably the Professor."_ Raichu agreed.

Just a few moments later, they strolled into a diner and sat at the counter, with Ash taking one stool and Raichu taking another. Ash waved over one of the men behind the counter after he had finished wiping down a small section of countertop.

"Could you put on channel three, please? And may I borrow a phone?" Ash asked in succession.

The barkeep shrugged and turned around, turning a knob on the radio to stop the low hum of music and letting it be replaced by the familiar sound of Professor Oak's voice. Next he simply moved the phone into Ash's line of sight from underneath the counter before walking away, leaving the Kanto-native to his new devices.

They had made it just in time, it seemed, because right after the proper channel clicked on Mary began speaking and telling the audience the number to call with any questions. Ash hurriedly started dialing, trying to keep up with the number the first time.

"And now we hope for the best." Ash started speaking as he dialed, lifting the phone to his ear as Raichu signaled for a pair of sodas.

Over the radio, the phone started to ring in the background. Mary clicked a button and a voice that wasn't Ash could be heard, asking about the Professor's poems. Ash shrugged and dialed again after they hung up. When the next caller they took was still not him, he sighed.

"This may take a while, Raichu." Ash said, taking off his hat to run his fingers through his hair. "I guess I forgot how popular Professor Oak was, huh? Not everybody grew up with him next door."

Raichu merely shrugged as well, turning to face Ash and using his tail to dial the phone while Ash kept the phone to his ear. Both Ash and Raichu were pleasantly surprised when Mary's voice echoed through the phone.

" _Hello sir, you're the lucky caller! Did you have a question for the famous Professor Oak?"_ Mary's voice called to him.

Ash shot Raichu a look, insulted that his partner got through on the first try. Raichu only smirked and turned towards the counter, sipping on his soda.

"Yeah, but it might be a little out there…" Ash started, getting both Oak and Mary's wrapped attention.

* * *

Paul walked into the fast food restaurant on the ship rather casually. It was the only place on the ship that was both in his price range and not total garbage, even though it was pretty close to being a heart attack on a bun.

The place was average size, Paul supposed, and there was enough space between tables for him to feel like he might not get too annoyed by the presence of anyone else. Even though there hardly seemed to be anyone around at the moment, he noted, glancing around the room. He determined his seat to be towards the back anyway, regardless of the lack of people, at one of the high tables parked by the bathroom doors and directly below one of the many voice boxes mounted on the walls. He quickly ordered at the counter before making his way over to it.

As he sat down, he switched on the voice box to see what would come out and was pleasantly surprised when he heard Professor Oak's voice. He never cared much for the old man's poems, but every now and again on his radio show he would be asked to talk about his research, which Paul was always very interested in hearing. One could never be too informed on Pokemon, after all.

" _So, you were fighting two gym leaders at once, Elesa and Skyla, in Nimbassa City with your Torterra, who then seemed to miraculously learn **Thunder Fang** after being paralyzed by Elesa's Emolga?" _ Oak's surprised tone was imminent. Paul's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

" _Pretty much, I made it to Driftveil City before I heard you on the radio. I figured it anyone would have any kind of answers for me that it was you, Professor. You don't need to believe me, but I'd really appreciate it if you knew anything related to Pokemon using moves they're not really supposed to."_ They said simply.

Paul could hear Oak hum in though, attempting to collect his thoughts on the matter. While Oak wasn't talking, Paul's attention was called elsewhere by the waitress bringing out his lunch, which he thanked her for, before turning back to listen to the good Professor's response.

"Fancy seeing you here." A familiar voice called. Paul turned to see none other than Soledad approaching him, drink in hand. "What's going on there?" She asked, motioning towards the radio behind Paul's table.

"Someone's called into Professor Oak's radio show asking about his Torterra learning **Thunder Fang**." Paul told her, pausing a beat.

He might as well tell her, he decided, she was didn't seem intent on going anywhere else. As expected, she was interested and sat down opposite him to listen better while she sipped her drink.

" _Well,_ " Oak started finally, after collecting his thoughts. " _There have always been similar reports in the past of Pokemon using attacks we didn't think they could use. We don't know everything about Pokemon, after all._ " He paused, chuckling a bit. _"Pokemon types are just different forms of the same energy, yes? The energy required to perform fire-type attacks is different than the energy needed to perform water-type attacks, and different attacks of all types are just the various ways that energy can be manifested and controlled through Pokemon."_ Oak paused. _"Arceus, creator of all Pokemon, supposedly has access to plates that can change its type at will, letting it essentially be or have access to every type. There are people out there that theorize Arceus made all Pokemon in its image, including giving every species the potential to access the rest of these energy types since many Pokemon can learn attacks that don't line up with its classified typing."_

" _So, does that mean that any Pokemon can learn any attack?"_ The caller asked, intrigued. Paul and Soledad exchanged glances at the prospect.

" _No, probably not. Just in the same way that not every fire-type learns **Heat Crash** or not every grass-type learns **Razor Leaf**." _ Oak explained. _"It's mostly in the same way that every Pokemon theoretically and technically has access to moves like **Tackle** or **Double-Edge** , even if they don't seem to learn the move naturally through level up. Because Torterra can learn moves like **Bite** and **Crunch** , I would wager that played the biggest part in your Torterra using **Thunder Fang**." _ Oak continued on. _"According to this theory, Pokemon that can use moves like **Bite** or **Crunch** all have the capability of learning attacks of a similar nature with different types, like **Thunder Fang** , **Fire Fang** and **Ice Fang** , for example." _

" _I see what you mean, Professor. So do you personally believe in this theory?"_ They asked, before a brief pause. _"And would it be safe for my Pokemon if I pursued trying to train them in these methods?"_ Came the next question, added as an afterthought.

" _If there's anything I've learned for sure in all my years it's that you should always be open to learning new things. If there was more than just rumor and scuttlebutt about this kind of thing, I could say for sure what I believed but for now, I'm more than willing to hear out both sides."_ Oak replied. _"As for your other question, I don't see any immediate problems as long as you and your Pokemon are aware of the consequences and are willing to try and push boundaries and limits. However, I must ask that you let me know what you find should you find yourself studying and training more down this path."_ Oak requested happily.

" _Sure thing, Professor. Thanks a lot for your help, we sure learned a lot."_ The next reply came. It sounded like they were about to hang up, before both Mary and Oak screeched out their last question.

" _Wait!"_ They both cried, though only Mary's voice could be heard after. _"What's your name?"_ She asked curiously.

" _Sorry, guess I was so excited I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Raidyn Stark, and I'm gonna win the Champion's League!"_ The now-named Raidyn proclaimed excitedly.

With that, Paul and Soledad both seemed to lose interest after with Oak wishing Raidyn Stark good luck in the league and the next caller asking to hear some of the professors' poems.

Meanwhile, Paul couldn't believe what he had heard. In hindsight, he should have figured that if anyone in the modern day era had managed to accidentally stumble upon something like this it would be Ash. Really, it would have been more confusing if it were anyone else, Paul thought.

'Good thing I stopped in here for lunch,' Paul thought to himself. 'Now I have a location on Ash and two something's to talk to him about when I find him.'

With Paul thinking about how he was going to get from Castelia to Driftveil before Ash managed to plow through the gym there, Soledad was the first to break the silence.

"That was an interesting radio show, wouldn't you say?" Soledad asked. Paul hummed.

"It raises a lot of interesting questions. If he's telling the truth anyway." He replied easily. Although, he thought to himself, Ash wouldn't just go around making up stuff like this.

"I guess we'll see at the Champion's League, he said he was competing." Soledad said with a smile. "I'd love a chance at this guy, sounds like a really strong opponent. What did he say his name was?" She asked.

Paul could practically see the gears in her head turning, no doubt thinking about training her Pokemon in the way he was after hearing Ash's story.

"Raidyn Stark." Paul answered sternly. Soledad hummed in further thought about the mystery that seemed to be Raidyn Stark as she scratched her chin. "Let me know what you find on him." Paul requested, knowing that the pink-haired coordinator was going to attempt researching Ash's alias.

"Of course, wouldn't want him to catch you by surprise either. But don't you leave me with all the work," Soledad jibbed back. "I expect updates from you when you start to pursue these types of training. Here's my PokeGear number so you have no excuse not to keep me posted." She finished, stressing the 'when' as she handed over a pre-printed card with her PokeGear number on it.

Years ago it would have been odd for trainers to do such a thing, but now it was quite commonplace. It eliminated the need to swap PokeGears to input numbers, saving on time and convenience as well as cut out the awkward process of searching for a pencil and parchment to handwrite numbers down on. Many trainers now a day kept cards with their PokeGear numbers and trainer information (name, place of birth, age etc. usually) printed on them in case they ran into a friendly passerby to quickly exchange information with.

Being as common as it was, Paul slipped her one of his from the front pocket of his black backpack. She smiled, taking it as she saluted him while holding his card between her fingers. He only nodded his goodbye in return, both trainers having acknowledged their agreement to speak again in the near future as Soledad exited the restaurant, throwing away her empty drink on her way out.

Paul turned his attention back to his thoughts, wondering how to go about training in the way Ash almost certainly was at the moment. He figured the best first thing he could do was go and watch Ash's gym battle with Elesa and Skyla on the Gym Leader's Association website using Reggie's account, and he left the restaurant for the serenity and privacy of his room.

* * *

"Gyarados, finish it off with **Hyper Beam**!" Misty commanded.

Gyarados obeyed, rapidly charging a ball of dark purple energy in its mouth as it broke out of the water. Her opponent could not even order his own Pokemon, an Ampharos, fast enough before the fully charged **Hyper Beam** slammed into its chest and threw it back, slamming the electric-type into the wall behind him.

"Ampharos is unable to battle! As the challenger has lost all his Pokemon, the winner is Gym Leader Misty!" The ref called, raising a flag.

Misty watched as her opponent calmly recalled his Ampharos before turning to her, bowing in respect before speaking.

"I'll be back in a few days after I train some more. I know I can earn this badge." He declared. Misty smiled; the feisty ones always were her favorite.

"I look forward to your future challenge." She said simply, petting Gyarados as he swam to the edge of the field to her. She smiled at him. "You were great out there today, Gyarados. You really turned it around, we couldn't have done it without you."

"Well, isn't that always the way?" A new voice said. Misty and Gyarados turned to see the familiar face of their old friend and fellow gym leader Brock coming through the front doors.

Misty broke into a grin and sprinted around pool of a battlefield in order to pull her friend into a hug. Brock chuckled a bit at the speed and force of the hug as he hugged her back.

"How's it going, Mist? I would think good, considering how fast that I saw the last guy run out of here towards Victory Road." Brock joked. He then faked recoiling back in pain as Misty playfully shoved him at his comment. "Did you make him cry?"

"No," Misty practically growled. "I just beat his Ampharos with Gyarados, that's all."

"Good to see you haven't changed any." Brock said with a chuckle. "You too, Gyarados, great to see you." He said, petting the sea serpents side as is swam over to the side of the pool Brock and Misty were talking by and reading his head down to say hello to his trainers close friend.

"It's been like a month, Brock. Nobody gets a drastic personality overhaul in barely three weeks." Misty said, rolling her eyes. "So," She said, starting to walk away from the entrance and towards the back of the gym. "Is this a business or social visit?"

They passed the end of the pool with Misty deciding to leave Gyarados out for now to stretch his muscles more in the pool. The training areas pool was bigger, sure, but it had most of her Pokemon out at the moment and Gyarados was a sucker for his own space.

"Social, nothing much on the business end yet. With he Champion's League coming up there probably won't be too much activity in our higher-ups that isn't related to that." Brock told her. "I just came to see how you were doing is all while I have the time to get out of the city. Last challenger I had was probably the kid you just beat, said he was from Johto."

"Dylan, yeah. He's a bit conceited with himself and his abilities, but battled decent." Misty informed him. "Damn near throttled my Goldeen, though. He didn't tell me he was an advanced trainer." Brock rolled his eyes.

"I'll call it in to the league, he did the same thing to me. His Feraligatr would've maimed by Geodude if I didn't forfeit it. I guess he's looking for some early advantages, but I did tell him it was illegal to impersonate a beginning trainer like that." Brock told her.

Misty rolled her eyes. People could be so nasty sometimes.

"Anyway," Brock continued on. "I talked to May a few days ago, she said both her and Dawn were planning on going to the Champion's League. It'll be nice to have the gang back together." He told her. She smiled widely at the thought.

"That's great Brock, I haven't seen anyone else in ages. I talked to May and Dawn about a month ago, but it feels like it's been years." Misty told him. "I wish we all weren't so far from one another all the time. We're in the same region and it takes weeks at a time to get to see each other in person."

"It's better than nothing, Mist." Brock reminded her, flinching right after. "That was a poor choice of words."

"A little, but I know what you mean." Misty paused. "Want to stay for lunch? That kid shouldn't be coming back today if he seriously want to earn my badge."

"Sure, it would be my pleasure." Brock said as they began to head past the training area. Misty smiled a bit.

"Great, what are we having? It's been ages since I've tasted your cooking, you know?" She teased, taking a few steps ahead of Brock.

"Hey wait, you said-" Brock cut himself off at her teasing wink. "If you wanted me to cook, all you had to do was ask." He said, playfully glaring at her as he walked by her still form.

The both chuckled as they entered the kitchen, trying their best not to be reminded of their old days traveling the lands.

"Hey Brock," Misty said as Brock began preparing ingredients. "Would you be interested in a vacation somewhere? Before the Champion's League?"

"Well I'm always down for more vacation time. Anywhere you had in mind?" Brock asked curiously, his interest piqued.

"I was thinking maybe somewhere in Johto. I remember it's nice this time of year." She suggested, hopping on to one of the countertops. "But I'm not sure, we've seen most of what there is from Johto."

"Were you thinking just us? Or the others?"

"Us and Max, I was thinking, but if May and Dawn want to come I wouldn't say no. Vacation to warm up and stuff for the league, you know, so I don't think they'd appreciate it too much. No outside influences, no schedules, just us, our Pokemon and learning." She informed him, getting a hum of approval.

"That does sound nice." He paused. "I'm in, the location doesn't matter too much if it's more about training than sightseeing. Maybe we can go somewhere none of us have gone before if Max is interested too?" Brock proposed. "Do you have tomatoes?"

"In the fridge, bottom drawer." She paused. "I guess we'll call the house after lunch and see, hopefully May upset at the idea of a trip to do nothing but battle and train." Misty said. Brock chuckled a bit.

"I'm sure it won't be a big deal, she'll probably make a week with Dawn out of it instead." He speculated. "I wonder if there's any coordinators in the Champion's League this year." He wondered out loud.

"I heard there was a few." Misty informed him. "Nobody I knew by name, though. But I don't know as many as you do. Why?"

"Just curious. There's a few people I haven't seen in a while that I wouldn't be surprised if they showed up." He shrugged. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"That's the fun part, Brocko." Misty said, pleased with her wordplay.

"Yeah it used to be, back when we had a trouble magnet around." Brock replied instantly.

Misty remained quiet as Brock finished preparing lunch.

* * *

" _Bless you."_ Raichu said from the stool next to Ash.

Ash wiped his nose with a napkin as he muttered thanks, closing his Pokedex up and slipping it into his pocket again.

"Alright buddy, do you think we should challenge the gym tonight or train with Torterra?" Ash asked, standing up.

" _We tried that earlier and it didn't really go anywhere. We know a little bit more than we did then, but we don't really have any kind of plan yet."_ Raichu commented. Ash nodded, picking his bag up off the ground and slinging it over his shoulders.

"So, challenge the gym now and come up with a training regimen tonight?" Ash suggested. Raichu nodded, leaping onto Ash's right shoulder.

" _Did we want to stay here tonight or try and move on?"_ Raichu took his turn asking questions.

"I was thinking just crash here, we've made plenty of progress today to make ourselves comfy and get a good nights rest. Then tomorrow, if we get to battle Clay today, we can get up around ten and move out." Ash informed his partner, who nodded along.

" _Sounds like a plan, Ash. Let's keep moving."_ Raichu encouraged.

Intentions mapped out, Ash and Raichu peacefully exited the diner in favor of heading towards the gym for an anything but peaceful battle.

* * *

 **Hello, folks!**

 **Sorry for the long delay, but college is a nightmare and a killer on my time, motivation and overall mood. I hope that now that it's summer I can keep myself in a good enough headspace and free enough for more regular updates and that, when next year comes around, I won't be put to a standstill again.**

 **That said how did you guys feel about this one? Worth the wait or not really? Feel free to let me know your thoughts and opinions in a review because I enjoy your feedback!**

 **And lastly, before we get to your reviews from last chapter, I want to let you all know that Cynthia will be appearing in the next chapter, but as to where- well, take your best guess.**

* * *

 **Zach Flare SOLDIER Class S:** _ **Noted.**_

 **Vital Info:** _ **Thanks; I'm glad I managed to do your vision justice. From the moment we talked about something like this happening I knew I wanted it to be Torterra that did it, just had to make it in the best scenario possible. It means a lot that you in particular are satisfied with how that scene played out. As for Ash and Paul's reunion, it'll definitely be soon, although with Ash now being able to skip Mistralton City on his travels, how soon?**_

 _ **Yeah, it's one of the first cases like this with such a large amount of witnesses to go on too and some of them (Ash, Elesa and Skyla) have friends in pretty high places. This'll certainly make a splash.**_

 _ **I thought so too, Paul's definitely one of the characters that wouldn't hesitate to trade away certain members of his arsenal if the deal was good enough. I hope I made clear that, while he had changed, he still has viewpoints that don't exactly line up with Ash's. As for Z-Moves, he'll probably be figuring it out at least before the Champion's League.**_

 _ **Your vote for Rampardos is also noted.**_

 **Lightningblade49:** _ **Yeah maybe, but it won't be any of the Unova gym leaders that notice. Ash wasn't exactly the same Ash in Unova as he was in the other regions, let alone how he is at the moment. And thanks! I'm glad you liked the events of the chapter!**_

 **Sovereign2808:** _ **One is correct, one is not ;)**_

 _ **I suppose that's fair; I guess I just misunderstood what you were saying. Sorry for jumping down your throat like that, I hope you didn't find me too rude. I understand what you mean now, seeing as that I basically did what you were afraid of and let the story stir. As for the moves, that's why I eventually decided to do so- for people that didn't want to read through the nitty-gritty of each individual motion and turn, but I'll try not to let the battles drag on so long in the future.**_

 _ **Sorry again for misunderstanding, but I'm glad we're on the same page now. Don't hesitate to continue telling me like it is, Cheers!**_

 **Guest:** _ **Sorry for disappointing you, I just didn't think it would be best to go back and just give him the Pokemon he gets since, back when I started planning and even writing the story, the Sun and Moon games hadn't even come out yet- let alone the anime, so I wanted to play it very safe. Ash can Mega certain Pokemon at the moment, and will eventually learn Z-Moves. And yes, we will see Alolan-forms under the ownership of a few people- some very important.**_

 **Voltage-Livewire:** _ **I'm glad you enjoyed my twist! I wanted to do something pretty different with that so it didn't feel like just a way for Torterra to get more spotlight and that it was an event all its own as well.**_

 **Hy6r1d60y:** _ **Some of them he will eventually battle, yes. I don't know about all, yet, though. As for Cynthia, it's hard to make her important just yet since the focus thus far has all been preparing for the Champion's League which she's only recently been allowed time to do so. Now that she's free of her league duties for a bit, we'll be checking in with her more often.**_

 **Roma:** _ **I'm glad you enjoy the story! Here's your update sorry it took so long! Hopefully you'll stick around a bit longer!**_

 **Siloo666:** _ **Ash will definitely not command Mew in battle, haven't decided about Mewtwo yet. But he will certainly battle Gary later.**_

 **Besen:** _ **I know, I was really nervous about it but I felt like it had to be done. (And I also personally prefer Raichu, but that wasn't really the deciding factor). Thanks for the nice words; I hope I manage to keep you happy!**_

 **A:** _ **I'm doing my best.**_

 **Bosma17:** _ **Your wish is my command; I hope you weren't waiting too long.**_

* * *

 **That's it for today, guys. Don't forget to leave your thoughts in a review & I hope you're all happy with this chapter! See you all in Chapter Thirteen: Becoming the King of the Mines.**

 **EDIT; May 21, 2018- If enough of you want me to include Ash's Alola Pokemon in the bunch I've figured out how I could do it [it would be a huge coincidence, though, but what isn't in the Pokemon world]. If you want me to bring in Ash's Alola team I would be bringing in basically what I theorize will be the final team he would have in the canon Sun and Moon anime, just so you all know. But still, let me know.**


	13. Becoming the King of the Mines

A Hero's Rebirth

Chapter Thirteen: Becoming the King of the Mines

* * *

Cynthia stretched her arms as she stepped outside of the villa she owned in Sunyshore City. She had been awake for a while by now but with no pressing matters to attend to besides an evening flight out to Cinnibar Island, she opted to relax around on her morning off.

It was nice sometimes, being a champion. Her only real boss was Goodshow and, while he was a great businessman and definitely knew what he was doing, was far more lenient than strict. It was thanks to him that she was allowed time off to train even before the League's shut down.

When an event as big as the Champion's League came around, it hyped everybody up. Every region wanted their region to do the best, to win, and prove that they were the strongest. Naturally as Sinnoh's champion this duty often fell to her in tournaments like this one, but now it was cranked up to eleven considering even each regions Pokemon League and gym leaders were given a few weeks off before the start up of the Champion's League to warm up and prepare, although exactly how long varied from region to region.

In Sinnoh, they got almost the whole month leading up to this event off in order to properly train and prepare. Many people would be baffled at the amount of time. A whole month dedicated to training for one tournament? That's plenty of time, why shut down the league for a whole month some would say. But Cynthia didn't think it was enough time, really.

Sinnoh was often regarded as one of, if not the, strongest regions overall. It's gym leaders were all exceptional, almost all of its wild Pokemon's levels were scaled strangely high and it's Elite Four had defeated the Elite Four from every region at one point or another. That's not even mentioning herself who, not to be conceited, had defeated every other Regional Champion at least twice and only lost to Diantha. With members like that, Cynthia hardly thought a month was enough time to adequately prepare all of her Pokemon for the sheer amount of intense battles to come her way soon. Fighting the likes of Lance, Steven and Diantha in rapid succession was something she knew she wasn't ready for just yet. No matter how strong Garchomp is even she would be exhausted after a string of opponents like that.

Even so, she would train harder than ever before in order to win this year. She would not walk away a loser again. That's why she was using the large amount of time off she had accumulated in the past few years, finally putting it to good use and getting almost a month and a half off to train on top of the time given to her by Goodshow the month beforehand.

"Ready to go, Garchomp?" Cynthia asked her dragon-type. Garchomp growled from the doorway behind her and she giggled. "I was hoping you'd say that. Want to see if Volkner and Flint are up for some sparring before we leave?"

Garchomp roared and Cynthia smiled, running a hand through her luxurious blonde hair.

"Don't get too cocky, it'll be the end of your winning streak." She chided playfully while turning back to face her signature Pokemon, who glared. "Watch it," Cynthia warned. "You're too big-headed for your own good, you know that? I almost hope something knocks you down a peg." She teased, stepping past Garchomp to get back into the house.

Garchomp turned to watch her enter the kitchen and grab her black hair clip off the counter top, stopping in the den on the way back to look in the mirror to place it properly. After, she returned to shoo him out of the doorway.

"Come on, let's head to Volkner's gym." Cynthia says, closing the door behind them. "You better be confident, I'm hoping for a two-versus-one today."

Garchomp merely scoffed.

* * *

"Raidyn Stark, I assume?" Clay said imposingly after Ash entered the Driftveil Gym.

"What gave me away?" Ash played along, stepping further into the building.

The place was exactly the same as he remembered, maybe a bit more wear-and-tear on the battlefield but it had seen worse days. High ceiling, dented upwards in the area directly over the battlefield for maximum space allowed, large, grey rocks, boulders and pebbles scattered around the arena that was otherwise barren with dark brown sand.

"Yer jus' like they said you'd be." Clay said simply. "And ya sure got here fast, in the same day as ya came from Nimbassa City."

Ash just smirked in response, as he looked the man over. Clay had hardly changed a bit over the years, except for turning a little grey. He was still in his light brown cowboy-style outfit, baggy pants that showed off his belt buckle and vest with a darker long sleeved undershirt sporting a teal tie all wrapped up with the large white hat atop his dark brown and grey-patched hair.

"The faster the better, we've got a long way to go 'till we get to the top." Ash replied, scratching Raichu's cheek. Raichu squeaked and Clay smiled widely at them.

"Same request ta me, I take it? My personal team?" Clay asked. Ash nodded. "I guess we'd better get this show on the road then." Clay said, motioning to outwardly with both his arms as the field lit up and his judge, who had remained silent until now, spoke.

"This is an official gym battle between Clay, the leader of the Driftveil City Gym, and the challenger, Raidyn Stark." The ref began. "The battle will be three-on-three with only the challenger can substitute Pokemon if they choose, and this battle will only conclude when all the Pokemon on either side are unable to continue battling." He paused. "If both trainers understand the rules, select your first Pokemon!"

"Excadrill, shake 'em up!" Clay shouted, tossing his Pokeball forward.

It seemed Clay's ace was making his appearance early this time Ash mused. Either that or Clay had gotten a new ace and if that was the case, he would need to be careful. His mind made up, he moved his hand away from his previously selected 'Ball and chose another.

"Torkoal, I choose you!" Ash cried happily.

Ash's Coal Pokemon landed in front of Clay's Subterrene Pokemon. One blew smoke out of its nostrils and shell in preparation as the other raised its shoveled arms high into the air as its show of power. Ash and Clay smiled confidently at each other from across the field.

"Yer usin' a fire-type 'gainst my ground-type? Ya lookin' to lose?" Clay taunted his opponent.

Ash remained silent but rolled his eyes. Same ol' Clay, but he wasn't taking the gym leaders bait this time around. In the silence, the ref started the match.

"As always, the first move goes to the challenger! Let the battle begin!" He cried, waving his flags.

"We'll take that first move and use **Flamethrower**!" Ash ordered.

Torkoal quickly obeyed, yanking his head backwards before flinging it out again with an open mouth to spray forward a torrent of flames.

"We ain't runnin' away, break through wit **Drill Run**!" Clay countered.

Excadrill leapt forward into the air, encircling the top half of its body in its metal claws entirely spinning rapidly and creating a metal shield that was used to pierce through the onslaught of flames quickly before the damage could build up.

"Match it with **Gyro Ball**!" Ash told Torkoal.

Not wasting any time, Torkoal tucked into his shell. The spout of flames stopped and he began spinning, the rim of his shell glowing with the shine of steel-type energy as the turtle-like Pokemon spin towards the spinning Excadrill. The two spinners collided with one another, pushing furiously for a short bit before Torkoal was overpowered and launched backwards.

Excadrill stood up straight and uncovered itself as Torkoal got to his feet, blowing out smoke in frustration.

"Keep it going, use **Dig**!" Clay said excitedly. Excadrill replied in kind, tucking itself back into its hands to drill down into the dirt.

"Don't let it reach you, **Earth Power**!" Ash replied quickly.

Torkoal gave off a shout of acknowledgement before it began shining in a gold light. Then, Torkoal stomped the ground hard, causing glowing gold cracks to appear and move out forwards, opening the ground above Excadrill's attempt at burrowing. Ash smiled as he saw the golden energy knock Excadrill up and out of the ground.

"Hit 'em with another **Flamethrower** , Torkoal!" Ash continued.

Without the theatrics of throwing his head back this time, Torkoal launched a steady stream of fire from his maw at the airborne enemy. The fire-type attacked connected cleanly and knocked the gym leaders Pokemon back further in the air. Luckily for them, it landed swiftly on its feet.

"Get in close and use **Metal Claw**!" Clay stepped in, preventing Ash from ordering right away.

" **Iron Defense**!" Ash offered quickly after.

Even as Excadrill made its way to Torkoal, hands shining brilliant white with the use of the steel-type attack, Torkoal tucked into his shell quickly once more. This time, however, instead of spinning he became covered in a metal sheen, signifying a defense boost and an act of protection against most attacks which, as Clay soon discovered, included **Metal Claw**.

"Excadrill, switch to **Brick Break**!" Clay switched spontaneously. In between one strike to the next, the telltale metal shine of nearly all steel-type attacks disappeared off Excadrill's already metal hands and was replaced by a plain white glow.

Excadrill's now fighting-type claws struck Torkoal's defensive hide a few times before Ash had enough of waiting.

" **Gyro Ball** and bounce up!" Ash cried out.

Clay's eyes almost bugged out from under his hat when he saw the metal shine go away between Excadrill's strikes and move to the edges of Torkoal's shell as the Coal Pokemon spun towards his own. Just before impact, it appeared Torkoal angled himself slightly downward, colliding with Excadrill on an angle that sent him upwards when they broke apart and Excadrill recoiling backwards a few steps.

" **Heat Wave**!" Ash capitalized on Clay's hesitation immediately.

Even in midair, Torkoal opened his mouth to form a ball of orange fire that proceeded to shoot out hot bursts of fire in concentrated waves at Excadrill. The Subterrene Pokemon was caught off guard from Torkoal's speedy mid-air attack and took the attack to the face, sending him flying back even further than before.

"Attackin' from far away is the cowards way." Clay scolded. Ash could only roll his eyes. "Catch 'em on the landing with **Dig**!"

Excadrill turned itself into its drill form once more, this time burrowing underground at even more rapid speeds and heading towards the spot it predicted Torkoal to land. Unfortunately for Ash, the fire-type could not avoid the super effective attack, as it was busy cancelling its **Heat Wave** so Excadrill broke through the ground the moment Torkoal landed, throwing it up and backwards towards Clay's side of the field.

"Turn around and use **Body Slam**!" Ash yelled desperately. It had worked once before, after all.

Torkoal turned to push off the wall and jumped back at Excadrill, belly first using the force of his launch to his advantage. Once again taken by surprise by the unusual speed its opponent had for its species, Excadrill was slammed into by the fire-type, sending them both to the ground with the mole-like Pokemon pinned beneath Torkoal.

"Get 'em in a **Submission** attack!" Clay shouted.

Excadrill moved its stubby legs up to kick Torkoal's underbelly in a backflip, keeping up a continuous roll while locking Torkoal in place with its claws. Even as they were spinning around, though, it didn't take long for Ash to come up with a plan.

" **Heat Wave**!" Ash ordered, surprising his opponents. Torkoal went with it though and opened his mouth once more despite the dizzying feeling of being rolled around and conjured the ball of orange fire that sprang forth slices of air radiating heat.

" **Hyper Beam**!" Clay countered, panicked.

Excadrill's **Hyper Beam** was bright white with varying colors inside of it, which Ash knew meant that the Subterrene Pokemon had little to no mastery of the attack. **Hyper Beam** was an attack that got darker in color the more the energy was condensed and controlled the proper way when the attack was preformed. The darker the **Hyper Beam** , the stronger it was and the more experience the Pokemon had with it, and a dark **Hyper Beam** could be a complete game changer no matter the opponent.

However, even in its weakest state it was still an attack made from pure energy with a ton of power behind it. That was something Ash knew Clay's Excadrill had a lot of, so it was no surprise that it was able to collide and match with the **Heat Wave**. After the dust cleared, both Pokemon were separated once again and both standing.

But Ash knew he had this round won due to the recharge period **Hyper Beam** created.

"Finish this Torkoal, **Overheat**!" Ash cried out encouragingly.

Torkoal opened his mouth glowing white as it shot beam of intense white flames that had a red-orange current of flame spiraling around it as the red spots on his shell lit up with power. The powerful fire-type attack traveled the distance of the battlefield quickly and Excadrill was powerless to do anything but tiredly attempt to dodge, as the recharge period only applied to attacks not movement. Nonetheless, Excadrill was too tired to do even that and the white flame struck it head-on and engulfed it entirely.

Moments later when the attack died down Excadrill promptly collapsed now that it wasn't being assaulted by fire, clearly unable to battle.

"Excadrill is unable to battle, the winner of this round is Torkoal!" The ref declared. "Gym Leader, send out your next Pokemon!"

"Think yer strong 'cus ya hit Excadrill when it was vulnerable? Ya don't know true strength." Clay chided. "Golurk, shake 'em up!"

The Automation Pokemon appeared in a blaze of light, replacing Excadrill's downed form. The behemoth of a Pokemon stood just as tall as Ash remembered in his last encounter with the species with Clay's being at least ten foot tall, a foot taller than the average.

"Can you keep going Torkoal?" Ash asked out to his battler.

Torkoal was scratched up a bit, panting a good bit and Ash just knew the underside of him would bruise tomorrow but Torkoal was a tough shell to crack, both literally and metaphorically. What he lacked in raw power he made up for in determination and courage. While Ash and Torkoal both knew there was no way Torkoal was beating Golurk in his current state, Ash would respect Torkoal's wishes whatever they may be.

He got his answer in the form of a determined bellow, smoke shooting out from his nostrils and shell again, darker than before to show the energy used during the previous battle. Ash smiled out at the ref, letting him know that Torkoal would remain on the field.

"Brave of ya ta keep goin' with yer Torkoal, though." Clay added smiling confidently.

"Brave of you to not give up yet. " Ash shot back. "Your move, Clay."

" **Shadow Punch** , both fists!" Clay started off boldly.

Golurk pulled both arms back, surrounding them both in a smoky black aura, outlined in purple, before throwing its arms forward once more to send the fists made in Golurk's likeness sailing together at Torkoal. Ash, knowing **Shadow Punch** couldn't be dodged, came up with another plan.

"Coun-er, **Gyro Bal** l and **Flamethrower** , Torkoal!" Ash stuttered out a counter. He really didn't want to be caught calling his technique by name as so few people knew that term, so he had to settle for spelling out his plan.

Torkoal tucked into his shell once more, spinning around with the use of **Gyro Ball**. Only this time the Coal Pokemon added a **Flamethrower** into the mix, creating his own version of the Counter Shield technique. The flames went out in all different directions, creating multiple layers of barriers around Torkoal to protect him from Golurk's **Shadow Punch**.

"Clever," Clay commented despite himself, it seemed. "But not clever enough. **Focus Blast**!"

Golurk backed up from the whips of fire, its ghost-type nature allowing it to float back out of their reach pretty quickly, while charging a ball of yellow energy between its hands. Then, once there were no flames directly in its path, it threw the ball at Torkoal.

The flames tried to hold it off, but the power difference now was unmistakable. **Focus Blast** 's base power was higher than **Flamethrowers** even before Torkoal's ability to use Special Attacks were weakened after using **Overheat** so it was no surprise to anyone when the **Focus Blast** tore through both lines of flames that tried to intercept it on its way to the spinning Pokemon. It didn't help that the fighting-type move easily overpowered Torkoal's current use of a steel-type move as well.

"End 'im now with **Shadow Punch**!" Clay continued ordering. Golurk carried out its commands, sending one more shadow-y fist surrounded in purple energy through the smoke, the attack easily homing in on Torkoal's weakened form.

Not soon after that, the smoke went away to reveal a defeated Torkoal.

"Torkoal is unable to battle, the winner of this round is Golurk!" The ref cried out. "Challenger, select your next Pokemon!"

"Torkoal, return. You did great pal, I couldn't have asked any more of you." He praised, tucking Torkoal's Pokeball onto the back of his belt. "Alright, now it's your turn. Hippowdon, I choose you!" Ash chose, tossing out another Pokeball.

Hippowdon appeared on the field in all his imposing glory, standing twice as big as his species usually got with the coloration to show he was a male. Clay actually smirked over at Ash at the sight of the behemoth.

"That's an impressive ground-type ya got." Clay complimented. "But that won't save ya."

"Wasn't counting on it." Ash replied, grinning out at Hippowdon.

Hippowdon was, in fact, the same Pokemon he had once rescued from Cassidy and Botch way back in Sinnoh when he was but a little Hippopotas. They had crossed paths again during the nearly five years Ash was roaming the globe and training in isolated locations and with more than a few of them in every region it was only natural that he would collect more Pokemon, some new and some old.

This time around Hippopotas was approaching adulthood and wished to grow stronger and see what the world had to offer, something Ash was more than happy to help him with. So they had been training together ever since, with Hippopotas quickly evolving into Hippowdon and becoming a real force to be reckoned with.

"Hippowdon set up a **Curse**!" Ash started, taking the first move this time. Clay seemed surprised at the younger trainer jumping the initiative, although he supposed it was fair.

Hippowdon wasn't a ghost-type, so rather than laying a curse down on his opponent his attack and defense would be boosted instead in compensation for losing speed. A circle of light purple energy formed around Hippowdon's feet, pulsating with energy as bolts and blobs of plasma raised up dissipating after rising above the Heavyweight Pokemon.

With the **Curse** complete, Hippowdon was briefly outlined in a red aura to signify a raise in its stats, ready to go.

"Golurk, **Hammer Arm**!" Clay yelled.

Golurk's legs retracted into its body to shoot out fire, rocketing towards Hippowdon as one of its forearms glowed white.

" **Rock Slide** , keep it away!" Ash countered.

Multiple white orbs of energy flew out of the holes on Hippowdon's back and circled above the field before turning into large grey rocks outlined in a soft white aura that began to rain down onto the area above Hippowdon. Golurk tried its hardest to navigate through the slew of rocks to reach Hippowdon, but was caught by more than one on the way. Nevertheless, it reached the air right above its opponent and slammed its glowing arm down onto Hippowdon's back.

" **Mega Punch**!" Clay continued his assault. Golurk's fist was surrounded in a grey orb of energy as it punched Hippowdon's back again.

"Hang tough, Hippowdon." Ash encouraged. He knew exactly how this match was going to go.

" **Mega Punch** again, aim fir the head!" Clay shouted.

Golurk floated around Hippowdon, the orb of energy surrounding both its fists this time as it moved up towards the front of his opponent. The first one struck the top of Hippowdon's head, but Ash was ready for the second one.

" **Crunch**!" Ash interrupted the flow of **Mega Punches**.

Hippowdon's mouth opened wide enough to completely engulf Golurk's glowing fist as its canines glowed a bright white with the use of the super effective dark-type move. Ash's plan worked like a charm, with Hippowdon clamping his jaw down just in time before the normal-type attack could hit anywhere inside its maw and do any serious damage. Then Hippowdon shook his head for good measure, flipping Golurk around like it didn't weigh eight hundred pounds.

" **Iron Head** , take it with you!" It was Ash's turn now to set the pace of the battle.

While Golurk was still struggling to free itself from Hippowdon's mighty bite, the ground-type's body was covered in a white aura that made it appear black and white. Golurk recoiled in pain as even the aura touching its body hurt. Next Hippowdon took off charging towards the wall, keeping its grip on Golurk's arm as it ran.

"Get outta there, Golurk!" Clay bellowed out helplessly. " **Heavy Slam**!"

Golurk's body was briefly outlined in yellow and Ash could see it attempted to throw its weight towards Hippowdon to keep it from going any further. If it were any other Hippowdon, it may have worked. But Ash's Hippowdon not only stood twice as large as his species usually did but also had the weight to show for it.

Clay was the only one surprised when Hippowdon wasn't thrown off by Golurk's **Heavy Slam** and continued on to slam into the cavern wall using Golurk as a buffer. The collision of course resulted in a lot of sand being blown everywhere. As it cleared Golurk stood up again, its legs replacing the blaster under its midsection, faltering only a bit.

A flinch.

"Perfect," Ash fist pumped. "Hippowdon, **Dig**!"

Hippowdon, unlike Golurk, seemed to be unaffected by their previous scuffle and quickly burrowed into the sand and dirt beneath their feet. Ash could tell Clay was not happy with the turn of the battle, but the worst was yet to come.

"Golurk, shoot a **Shadow Ball** down that hole!" Clay ordered.

"Oh no you don't, Hippowdon plug it up with **Rock Slide**!" Ash countered immediately.

Orbs of white energy expanded from seemingly the ground before they all formed into solid grey rocks once again, this time targeting nothing in particular with one of the larger rocks getting itself stuck in the very hole Hippowdon burrowed down in just before the ball of purple energy Golurk formed could make it through the tunnel. The **Shadow Ball** scuffed the rock a bit, but was not prepared to break it.

"Hippowdon use **Slack Off**!" Ash cried out.

The only confirmation Ash got that he was heard was a bellow from the beast underneath the floor. Ash knew **Slack Off** was carried out without issues, allowing Hippowdon to recover large amounts of his health.

"What kinda tactic is hidin' from us?" Clay shouted angrily.

"Who's hiding?" Ash rebuttled. " **Stone Edge** , Hippowdon!"

With nowhere to pinpoint as the source, Golurk was just as surprised as Clay when giant pillars of blue rocks burst from the ground towards the Automation Pokemon. Golurk's legs retracted once more, this time its fists also disappearing as fire sprang to life from its wrists and midsection help it fly away even faster than before. It zigged and zagged as the stones continued on a straight path, stopping once they reached Ash's side of the field.

"Heh," Clay laughed. "You missed."

" **Earthquake**!" Ash continued on, unmoved by Clay's words.

The blue stones began to shake, large cracks forming in them as the whole gym began to quake. The **Stone Edge** quickly shattered everywhere, creating blue shards of rock that littered the ground. Clay was the most surprised, however, when Hippowdon fell to earth, revealing itself to have been on top of it's own **Stone Edge** attack.

'Just who is this guy?' Clay wondered to himself. He had never once though of having a Pokemon ride on a **Stone Edge**. What was he going to do next, Clay wondered.

"Kick up a **Sandstorm**!" Ash cried out next. Hippowdon blew out its nostrils and out came bursts of wind and sand mirrored by the holes on its back, signified by all the divots shining several different colors briefly.

The **Sandstorm** brewed around Hippowdon with winds strong enough to pick up and blow around the blue crystals left over from **Stone Edge** that were scattered all across the battlefield. Golurk, being a ground-type, was unaffected by the **Sandstorm** itself but found itself thoroughly annoyed by the bits and pieces of blue rock shards it was getting pelted with in the debris.

"Absolutely genius." Clay found himself muttering.

Certain types could nullify the chip damage created by **Sandstorm** ; that effect of **Sandstorm** did not damage ground, rock and steel types as it did to all the others. However by creating a variation of the attack, it let types usually unaffected by the environment become as helpless as others would become.

"You like it?" Ash took a moment to gloat over to Clay. "We call it **Stone Storm**."

"Not bad, kid. Not bad at all." Clay went back to being standoffish. "But it'll take more 'en that to win here."

"Now that's what I was counting on." Ash replied. "Hippowdon, **Dig**!"

Hippowdon burrowed its way underground as Golurk tried to fight through the shards of **Stone Edge** that kept flying into it to catch the Heavyweight Pokemon before it could disappear completely, to no avail. Hippowdon was deep underground by the time Golurk reached the area its fellow ground-type occupied.

" **Hammer Arm** the ground!" Clay ordered quickly. He didn't want to give Raidyn any time to do something else crazy.

Both of Golurk's forearms glowed white as it floated closer to the ground. Once it was close to the hole it slammed both its forearms repeatedly into the dirt, creating craters on top of the gaping hole left by Hippowdon. Just when it seemed Golurk was getting somewhere hammering away at the floor, Ash's voice rung out once more.

" **Iron Head**!" He bellowed out encouragingly.

Hippowdon came crashing through the multiple layers of dirt, mud and solid ground between himself and Golurk surrounded by the glow of the steel-type move once more. Golurk managed to cross its arms over its chest in preparation, still using **Hammer Arm** , but the force of the impact alone was enough to deal massive damage and launch Golurk back.

Clay looked taken aback, not expecting the sudden strength from Hippowdon's attack. After breaking through all that terrain it was still strong enough to overpower a fighting-type attack?

" **Stone Storm** has all the same side effects as a regular Sandstorm, ya know?" Ash called out.

Clay seemed to sneer in realization as well as appreciation.

"Sand Force," Clay said quietly, as if reminding himself. "I shoulda known when yer Hippowdon didn't whip up a **Sandstorm** a 'soon as it came out."

"You were too focused on outdoing me with your ground-type at the beginning of the match." Ash replied, knowing all along he was playing with the gym leaders pride. "Now we'll show you just how strong a ground-type Hippowdon is! **Double-Edge**!"

As Hippowdon charged Golurk, it began to glow yellow with white streaking back. The life-risking tackle attack left a trail of yellow energy behind Hippowdon and before Clay could blink, the behemoth was halfway to Golurk. Clay didn't even have time to remark that the attack would have no effect before Ash's voice cried out once more.

"Switch to **Crunch**!" He shouted.

Clay's expression turned sour so fast it was barely visible to the naked eye. He became frantic in an instant, letting out a few cuss words at himself for once again underestimating his opponent. Ash, meanwhile, grinned as his plan came to completion with Hippowdon's glowing jaws snapping shut on Golurk after closing the distance rapidly with the boosted momentum from **Double-Edge**.

The **Crunch** 's momentum carried Hippowdon and Golurk into the wall straight behind Clay. Giant rocks began to fall, the ground shook and even more dust was created but it did nothing to higher the tension; they all knew the outcome.

As such, nobody was surprised when the ref made the call immediately after the cloud of dust disappeared.

"Golurk is unable to battle, the winner of this match is Hippowdon!" He cried out, waving the flag corresponding with Clay's side of the field. "Gym Leader, select your third and final Pokemon!"

Clay just smirked as he grabbed another Pokeball.

* * *

Paul's eyes narrowed at the number calling him.

It was Jessie and James' number, the same one they had called from last time. The one he didn't save.

He was a bit annoyed as they were calling him during his third re-watch of Ash's gym battle in the Nimbassa Gym. He was busy trying to both analyze Ash's fighting style and how strong his Pokemon had become at the same time as thinking about how he could go about something similar to Torterra using **Thunder Fang** with his own Pokemon.

Despite how lost in thought he was, he answered the call while hoping his threat from before carried over to this phone call.

It didn't.

" _Prepare yourself for information!"_ Jessie sang.

" _Soon to be double with some temptation!"_ James went next.

"That thing about your tongues still applies." Paul interrupted stoically. He heard them all wince on the other side of the line.

" _Right, right. Sorry."_ James apologized.

" _I tried to tell 'em, they didn't listen."_ Meowth chimed in happily.

Paul rolled his eyes and he guessed he must've done it hard enough for them to hear because after, they started to get to the point. It was Jessie who started speaking next.

" _We got a letter in the mail the other day."_ She started slowly. _"It was from Giovanni. He's been released from prison after framing Domino for everything Team Rocket did."_ She paused. _"But you knew that already, didn't you?"_

" _Dat's why you're gonna find the twerp, right? To tell him?"_ Meowth guessed out loud.

" _Wobbuffet!"_ Paul heard in the background. He only hummed his agreement in response.

" _Don't worry, there's more."_ Jessie told him, sensing his growing aggravation with them. _"He said he's calling Operation Rising Rocket into effect. That's the code we had for rebuilding if any of our operations had been found out, like in Celadon."_

"So he's back at it again already?" Paul mumbled to himself. The bastard.

" _Still more."_ Meowth told him, keeping his attention.

" _He's called all the former Rockets- well, the one's he didn't throw in jail anyway- to a meeting. He wants anyone still loyal to meet him behind Tohjo Falls."_ James supplied more information. _"But Tohjo Falls was only where we met if there was an outside party there, so our real headquarters was undetectable."_

Paul's eyes narrowed.

"Are you going?" He asked his voice steeled.

" _We don't see why not."_ Jessie replied. _"He doesn't seem to know we've done anything wrong. And you twerps would really benefit from some more inside information."_

Paul nodded to himself. That answered that question. He was grateful they were still on his and Ash's side.

"When?" He asked next.

" _Two days from the time the letter was sent."_ James told him. _"That'd make the meeting tomorrow according to the postage date."_

"Okay, keep me in the loop. I should be with him by that time tomorrow if I'm lucky." Paul told them. "He was last seen in Nimbassa City earlier today, but the video was uploaded hours ago. My guess is he's already on his way over to Driftveil." He continued, sensing the question on their lips.

" _Hot on the trail, I see."_ Jessie said playfully. _"We'll let you know if we hear anything else. Until then, expect to hear from us before tomorrow ends."_

Paul nodded to himself; thanking them for keeping him updated with the Rockets business still and hung up once again without a goodbye. Now then, he thought, back to Ash's Nimbassa Gym battle.

On a related note, he wondered if Ash was battling again in Driftveil already. That would be three gym leaders beaten in one day; quite the record, Paul noted as he glanced over at his map of the Unova region laid out on his nightstand.

His fastest Pokemon was most certainly Ninjask. But he couldn't ride on Ninjask and it would take him a few hours to get from Castelia to Driftveil, hours in which Ash could have moved on. It looked like he would need to fly with Golurk as it propelled itself into the air.

Golurk was too heavy to fly for extended periods of time over long distances, let alone with a passenger, and Paul had never flown with Golurk over a distance like this before. He was unsure of how much faster the Automation Pokemon would be than simply hoofing it.

Paul grunted his frustration, focusing back on the replay of Ash's battle. The path to Driftveil was a problem he could attempt to solve later tonight before bed; for now, he had a battle to study.

* * *

Gary stretched as he exited the plane.

The ride was only a few hours long at the speeds Captain was going, about an hour shorter than the usual seven hours due to the clear skies and minimal amount of passengers on board. In fact, Captain's use of a weaker model of plane was probably the only reason they had not made it there in four, with his plane being smaller than the models commercial airports had begun to use.

He quickly turned around and helped Leaf step down, one of her hands in Gary's and the other keeping her hat in place against the seaside winds. Now safely on the ground, Leaf reached under her seat to grab her suitcase of essentials as Gary merely pulled the straps on his definitely over packed backpack tighter.

"Thanks a lot Captain!" Leaf cried as she and Gary walked around up to the cockpit door. "You too, Pilot! You were great!"

Pilot the Pidgey chirped in reply, fluttering its wings happily at the compliment. Gary reached forward to tip the man as he replied.

"Anytime folks, it's my job." Captain replied easily, taking the money. "Thanks, don't get many tips these days. You want I should stay here until you're ready to get back?" He asked them.

Gary and Leaf shared a look and simultaneously shrugged, not having considered that as an option.

"No," Gary started, only a tad unsure with himself. "There's no telling how long we could be yet. We couldn't ask you to wait days on end for something we may or may not find."

"Yeah, you can take of whenever you like. But we'll give you a call next time we need a flight out of Kanto if that's okay with you?" Leaf added.

Captain nodded his understanding before signaling takeoff to Pilot, who chirped again.

"Back up now, kids, and I'll be seeing you around." He waved goodbye with his Pidgey partner as Gary and Leaf backed up to give the plane room to start moving.

Not long after, the two friends were alone in the Johto region and plotting their route to Cianwood City.

"Do you want to teleport, fly or swim, girlie?" Gary asked, looking at the set of Pokeballs on his waist.

"Which way's faster?" Leaf asked. She saw the smirk on Gary's face and quickly added, "Besides teleporting."

"Well without the fun way," He started with a smile again. "That depends on what Pokemon." He said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Leaf picked up on the unspoken challenge right away as they edged towards the coast; the other section of mainland could be seen even from this far away.

"Is that a challenge, bookworm? You're on." Leaf accepted. "How about we shake things up; I swim, you fly?"

"Oh I get it, you're afraid my Blastoise and I are too much for you in the water." Gary retorted. "I understand, a fair complaint."

"Yeah, I don't want to embarrass you while your trying your hardest." Leaf shot back. "Tentacruel, swim for me!" She cried, throwing a Dive Ball into the air and releasing a beast of a Tentacruel into the nearby water.

"Impressive, well above average in overall size. Not quite double in height, but probably double in weight." Gary analyzed as he strolled up.

"Thanks, he's one of my battlers." Leaf told him. "Not all of my Pokemon are for battling, most are sent straight to Professors to study and care for since I attempt to capture the prime specimen of every species. Most of my captures go towards professors learning about the minimums and maximums of every species. I only keep a certain group on hand with me trained for battle." She told him at his confused look. "I couldn't possibly properly care for as much Pokemon as I've caught, at least they're being used for a good cause."

Gary seemed to nod. That made sense, he supposed. He did the same thing with a large amount of his captures after he settled down to become a researcher except he kept far more than the handful it seemed Leaf did. No matter, he decided, he would out fly her anyway.

"Skarmory, your turn!" Gary cried, releasing the metal-clad bird of prey. "You feel like flying faster than a Tentacruel can swim?" He asked confidently. Skarmory seemed to smirk down at her trainer and turned around, allowing him to mount her.

"You too, Tentacruel. We're gonna swim so fast Skarmory'll wish it was a water-type." Leaf challenged. Tentacruel grunted and turned around, facing Cianwood City and gesturing for his trainer to board him.

Once both sets of trainer and Pokemon were in place, Gary made the call and they were off at breakneck speeds.

* * *

"Let's shake 'em up Mudsdale!" Clay cried, tossing up his last Pokemon.

Clay's Mudsdale appeared before Ash's Hippowdon in a flash of light, stomping its mud-covered hooves threateningly. Frankly, if Ash never seen a Mudsdale before he probably would've been intimidated. Ash, however, was primarily surprised that Clay had a Pokemon from Alola.

It was a secluded place, Ash had learned, so it was rare to find trainers with Alolan Pokemon anywhere else, especially if they weren't from Alola themselves.

Ash had stumbled onto one of the islands during his years of training, unknowing that he had been training in an entirely different region until he came across some of the wild Pokemon there that he didn't recognize from anywhere else in his many years of traveling.

He had quickly gotten into contact with Professor Krane after his first departure from the set of islands to learn more and make sure he had not done anything wrong but Krane was quick to assure him that, as of recently, Alola was more open to tourists and trainers stopping by. It seemed that they decided to take a more active part in the politics of the Pokemon World as of recently.

Krane told Ash that he could train there as much as he liked and catch anything he came across barring what the Alolan people described as the Island Guardians. This worked well for Ash, who traveled back in a few days to befriend some of the native Pokemon while staying entirely hidden from the civilized part of all the islands. He was still in hiding, after all, and just because Alola used to be secluded and it had great, desolate and abandoned locations to train didn't mean he could join the world here.

So he spent a few months training in Alola around some of the more closed off locations with less foot traffic than normal and even came out with a chunk of Pokemon native to Alola to show for it. That's why instead of Glalie as he planned, he primed another Pokeball and grinned.

"I see you've been to Alola." Ash commented. Clay was surprised Ash knew what region Mudsdale was native to and even seemed to recognize the species on sight.

"Hippowdon, take a break." He decided. Hippowdon's Pokeball was in Ash's left hand, being used recalling the massive ground-type as Ash palmed another primed ball. This is why you don't plan things out, Ash thought to himself. Glalie was not going to get his chance to battle as expected. No, he was going with someone else for this match.

"Lucky for me," Ash started. "So have I. Ninetales, I choose you!" He continued, lobbing up his last Pokemon to reveal a beautiful Ninetales of the Alolan variant, making it an ice and fairy dual-type rather than purely fire-type. Upon her entrance, it began to hail over the **Stone Storm** created prior, revealing Ninetales' ability as Snow Warning.

"Well I'll be." Clay stared at Ninetales, seemingly mesmerized.

Ash's Ninetales coat was a pale blue, accented nicely with soft white patches at the ends of her tails, head crests and paws and stood above the average height at over five foot tall. Ninetales let out an excited cry at being selected to battle before shifting her stance and spreading her tails, making herself appear larger.

"I've only heard about those through Alolan legends." Clay said in awe.

Ash, however, due to not interacting with anyone during his time in the Alolan region, had no idea about any legends or how rare his Pokemon was and merely smiled wide over at his opponent.

"Then you won't mind us taking the first move. **Feint Attack** , go!" Ash ordered, wanting to waste no more time.

Ninetales' tails calmed and no longer stood on end as Ninetales made her way slowly to Mudsdale's side of the field. Once she was about half way there, she disappeared in a blue only to reappear at the ground-types side and body-check it, throwing it to the right.

Mudsdale's whole body became briefly outlined in red after the strike, which Ash narrowed his eyes at. Stamina, Mudsdale's signature ability, raised its defense after every attack that made contact. That didn't stop it from being buffeted by the hailstorm, though.

" _Only his defense to physical attacks, Ash."_ Ninetales reminded, looking back at her trainer. Ash nodded.

" **Stomp** , go!" Clay ordered. Mudsdale, for a big Pokemon, reacted quickly and was over Ninetales in a few quick beats, driving its large hoof down onto the regional variants back.

" **Ice Shard** , go for the face!" Ash instructed.

Ninetales opened her mouth, forming an orb of light blue energy. From the orb, a barrage of shards varying in blues shot out and struck Mudsdale's face, causing it to back up a bit and move its foot from its opponents back even as it glowed red again, gaining a defense buff.

" **Heavy Slam**! Keep it pinned!" Clay shouted.

Mudsdale had just finished glowing red when it started to glow yellow instead. Then it launched its full body weight forwards at Ninetales, attempting to embed it into the ground once more.

" **Ice Beam** , on the ground!" Ash cried urgently.

Ninetales obeyed despite all its instincts telling it to try and get out of the way and formed another ball of energy at its maw, this time a bright light blue. From it, multiple beams of light blue shot out, aiming straight at the ground at the moving Mudsdale's feet, causing it to slip and miss its target, unintentionally using **Heavy Slam** on the ground and taking an inkling more damage from the hail.

" **Stomping Tantrum**!" Clay returned quickly. Mudsdale got up from the ground as quickly as it could without falling over and reared up on its hind legs, bringing its front ones down onto Ninetales' body as they glowed bright red with anger.

" **Blizzard** on the whole field!" Ash challenged.

He knew **Stomping Tantrum** 's power on the last turn had been doubled because of the failed **Heavy Slam** , but he had a way to turn it around still. The inside of Ninetales' mouth glowed blue as it wailed, a blizzard coming straight out and swirling around above the two Pokemon. The winds and cold damaged Mudsdale on the way around the field, causing another defense boost as the field became briefly clouded due to the ensuing blizzard.

After it was done the entire field was covered in a thick layer of ice.

"What's yer game this time, Raidyn?" Clay murmured to himself.

" **Extrasensory** , throw Mudsdale back!" Ash continued on.

Ninetales' eyes glowed yellow as it opened its mouth again, this time shooting out a golden, multicolored circular beam at Mudsdale. After Mudsdale was entrapped in the circular beam, Ninetales jerked her head up and to the left, flinging the now-glowing Mudsdale.

'Now he should go for a ranged attack any minute now.' Ash thought to himself. True enough, it was the next thing Clay did.

"Shoot it with **Mud Bomb**!" Clay retaliated, pointing angrily.

Mudsdale opened its mouth to shoot a glob of brown mud across the field at Ninetales.

"Here goes nothin'," Ash muttered to himself in thought. " **Aurora Beam** on the ground!"

A glowing bluish green orb appeared at Ninetales' mouth as she shot it downwards at the ground just by her feet, with it turning into a black and green beam of energy before it struck the ground and kicked up a mass of ice shrapnel in front of Ninetales. The half-circle of ice shards created from the ground formed a barrier of sorts that warded off the **Mud Bomb**.

" **Aurora Beam** again, towards Mudsdale!" Ash changed commands. Ninetales nodded, shooting another black and green beam of energy across the field.

"We'll use yer own trick against ya, Mudsdale **Stomp** on the ground!" Clay cried out confidently. He didn't notice Ash's smirk.

Mudsdale stomped on the ground hard after rearing up on its hind legs once more, planting its front hooves under the thick layer of ice momentarily before it shattered in the area around its front legs. Unfortunately, the **Aurora Beam** never made contact due to being cut in half from behind by a newly fired **Ice Beam** , much to the surprise of Clay and Mudsdale.

The **Ice Beam** had a freezing effect on the bubble-like area created around Mudsdale, encasing the other Alolan native in a sphere of crystal-like ice, left immobile.

"Monkey see, monkey do." Ash quipped over at Clay, who was left gob smacked at what had just happened as he shared a look with Raichu.

Ash so wished Dawn could see what he had done with her **Ice Chandelier** tactic and how he had adapted it for other situations and briefly wondered if she would find it useful in ways like this. He didn't dwell on it for long though, as he knew that Mudsdale's high physical prowess could break it free if left alone too long.

" **Hex** it!" Ash said next.

Ninetales wailed as its eyes glowed a mixture of purple and light red as Mudsdale's form trapped in ice became outlined in the same colors. Then, Mudsdale's form started to spasm while still trapped, breaking its makeshift ice cage and letting it drop to the ground as **Hex** 's power was doubled with the status condition forcibly inflicted on it.

"Mudsdale, **Earthquake**! Clear all that ice!" Clay said suddenly.

Ash was colored surprised when Mudsdale shot back up, ignoring all the aches and pains it had in favor of causing tremors to run through the gym floor. The rapid shaking did manage to create cracks in the layers of ice beneath them and even throw some chunks into the air, but Ash knew Mudsdale had reached its limit.

"Finish it with **Moonblast**!" Ash roared out before Ninetales took too much damage or Clay changed tactics once more.

Ninetales reared its head up, pointing it up towards the sky as pink energy began to swirl around her muzzle. Once a pink orb of energy was formed completely, she looked at Mudsdale and fired it; the fairy-type attack quickly traveling the length of the whole battlefield quicker than any of Ninetales' other attacks before it.

Mudsdale took the attack to the chest bravely, having no time to get out of the way and nobody was surprised when the Draft Horse Pokemon was flung backwards into the cavern wall.

All was still for a moment before Mudsdale neighed quietly, slumping over for the final time as Ninetales purred, content with her victory.

"Mudsdale is unable to battle, Ninetales is the winner! Since all three of the gym leaders Pokemon are unable to battle, the winner is the challenger, Raidyn Stark!" The ref cried, waving both his flags to signify the end of the battle.

Ash and Raichu gathered around Ninetales on the field, careful not to fall over on the ice as Ash enveloped her in a hug.

"Thanks a lot, girl. You were great." He complimented. She nuzzled his face back, her tails moving to surround herself, her trainer and Raichu.

" _I can't believe I won! And that **Ice Bubble** worked so efficiently!" _ Ninetales cried.

" _You were right Ash, monkey see, monkey do. Sorry I doubted you."_ Raichu admitted sheepishly.

"That was quite the spectacle ya pulled out there, Raidyn. Yer one hell of a trainer." Clay complimented, almost reluctantly. "We may do things differently, but I recognize talent when I see it. You'll go far, kid."

"Thanks for the match, it was a lot of fun. We learned a lot from it." Ash said, shaking Clay's hand. Clay smirked.

"I'm sure ya did. Maybe I'll get to teach ya another thing 'r two at the Champion's League." The gym leader replied.

"I look forward to it." Ash shot back, turning to leave. "Ninetales, return for now. I'll be seeing you." He turned back to wave to Clay after clipping Ninetales' Pokeball to his belt while Raichu scurried up to his shoulder.

Clay watched them go after that.

Where? He couldn't be entirely sure, but probably to steamroll the next gym in their path.

* * *

"I guess it's time we settle down for the night, huh buddy? We've moved a lot today." Ash said to his starter.

" _Yeah, I vote we get dinner, do some research and turn in for the night."_ Raichu offered his input. Ash nodded.

"Sounds good to me," Ash replied as he entered the Driftveil Pokemon Center. "I'm starving."

"Excuse me, sir?" Nurse Joy's sweet polite voice called out to him just before he could walk down the hallway to the cafeteria. He turned around to face the help desk and its Nurse Joy, who smiled at him. "Are you Raidyn Stark?" She asked him.

Ash and Raichu shared a glance. Okay, they thought, that was unexpected.

"Someone tried to call for you, said they were a Professor from the Sinnoh region." Nurse Joy told him as he approached the counter. He started to speak, but she continued on again. "He said it was fine," She said, sensing the apology. "But wanted me to tell you to check your email inbox."

* * *

 **Ready! Aim! Publish!**

 **Sorry this took so long, I had some technical difficulties over here. Everything's all sorted out now so hopefully I can get another few chapters out before school starts up again and I have even less time to write.**

 **This one was a tough battle to write out, I hope I didn't under power Clay too much but I did what had to be done. I don't want the gym battles to get stale (because trust me, we've got a lot left to go) so I'm trying to find ways to keep them interesting like with Ash trying out some of his off-the-wall strategies against opponents that aren't his other Pokemon for the first time.**

 **As per request and also my love for Incineroar, I've decided to go ahead and give Ash his canon Gen VII Pokemon as of this moment along with a few non-canon ones I felt like fit Ash well. But just because Ash was in Alola and has Alolan Pokemon does not make him aware of all the islands… well, quirks. He doesn't know about Z-Moves, Crystals or Rings, Totems or Trails and all that jazz. To Ash, Alola is more like a secluded island chain with rare Pokemon rather than the location of the Aether Foundation and home of the Ultra Beasts.**

 **Be sure to tell me what you guys' liked/didn't like in a review! Any feedback helps! Now for your responses!**

* * *

 **Lightningblade49:** _ **He wasn't really thinking of it as a trump card at the moment, he was more worried about Torterra's health and whether or not something like that was biologically possible. He'll probably regret sharing with the whole world, sure, but the more important thing to Ash is his Pokemon's safety over having a trump card.**_

 **RESTIA:** _ **Thank you so much! I hope I'll be able to keep giving you one welcome surprise after another for a long time!**_

 **GA Pokemon Fan:** _ **I have decided to bring in his entire canon Gen VII Pokemon team plus some others. But a hint; Decidueye won't be his only ghost-type ;)**_

 **Vital Info:** _ **Yes, I wonder who could have possibly given me some of these great ideas and plot points? I hope I get to thank them one day! :).**_

 _ **There are definitely a whole host of things that don't add up in Pokemon, Egg Groups being one of the most consistently inconsistent parts of the series just behind Pokemon Categories (Quagsire, the Water Fish Pokemon. Really, GameFreak?) So hopefully I won't have to delve too much into stuff like Egg Groups, but it may come up depending on whom we hear from next.**_

 _ **I'm glad you're excited; because at least two of these plot points reach their peak soon! And as you can see, Team Rocket is absolutely going to meet with Giovanni and continue their double agencies for Ash. We'll get to see what goes on behind Tohjo Falls within the next few chapters for sure.**_

 _ **There was quite a bit of others tuned in to Oak's radio show as well, don't you worry. Word travels fast.**_

 _ **As you can see, I've mentioned a few times that Ash will have all his canon Gen VII Pokemon up to this point plus a few others I threw in that he stumbled upon while training in Alola. The canon ones are the same from canon, just caught in different ways/locations. It helped a bunch as always, I look forward to your reviews as much as you do my chapters!**_

 **Aoi Hyoudou:** _ **On one hand I want to defend myself but you are all absolutely right, I shouldn't have labeled this a Rayshipping fic yet with how little a part Cynthia has played. So you have all wished it, so it shall be. Cynthia will be a bigger part in the story from here on out if Rayshipping is the way you guys want me to go.**_

 **Stupidchinchilla:** _ **Thanks; I'm glad you enjoyed it! I hope you enjoy this one as much as I'm CERTAINLY enjoying my summer break!**_

 **Ball Hawk:** _ **Thank you! I try my best! As for Rayshipping… read this next part of my Author's Note.**_

* * *

 **Due to the fact that Cynthia has played a smaller part than originally intended in this story, I shall once again ask you all if Rayshipping is the way you'd like this story to go. By the time you read this, I'll have a poll set up on my profile that won't close for a while of who Ash should be paired with in the endgame of "A Hero's Rebirth" to decide once and for all.**

 **The options on the pole aren't final yet, just some of the main ones I remember considering before and some rare-pairs. If you have someone that you want Ash's endgame to be that isn't on the pole or Misty, May, Dawn, Iris or Serena just PM me and I'll consider adding it to the poll for others to select!  
**

 **This is your last chance to change my mind if you want someone not Cynthia paired with Ash as that's where the majority leaned last time. So go vote on my profile for Ash's leading lady!  
**

 **Hopefully I'll see you all here again before the summer ends in Chapter Fourteen: R &R – Reunions and Rockets! **


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